Swimming Home
by yuuka-hanamaya
Summary: OCI. Tessa has never known life beyond the doors of home. When she escapes from The Mother, how will she survive in an almost unknown world that hates mutants? Rating changed for language.
1. Prologue

**Wow. I can't believe I'm writing this. I mean, I know it's stupid and everything, but.. I just can't get the idea out of my head. It just kind of.. Fit's, you know? And I think maybe it'll be fun. If anyone's got some OC's they want to give out, PM or review the info and I'll probably put them in one way or another. ;3_  
><em>I used my real name not because the character I made has anything pertaining to me and/or relating to me particularly, but because it fit so well. It made so much sense.**  
><strong>Enjoy? Hate? Throw your computer over a cliff in frustration? Criticise? Or perhaps, review? Whatever you choose, like or dislike, read or abandon, I didn't make this for the public; I made this because the idea had been floating around in my mind, taunting me. So, I gave into the temptation. I figure, I already polluted Star Wars, why not just write out this idea, too?<br>I'm gonna warn you right now. Rating may change.**

* * *

><p><em>"Be silent, and come with me." Mother's whispers grazed softly into the small child's ears. The Mother clutched onto the frail young child's hand, leading her into an almost ancient chapel. The dust filling the large room was immense, and the soft glow emanating from the large, painted windows only added to the chilling atmosphere. The air was warm and thick, making the small child feel comfortable, but the dampness of the room made her feel very crowded. Mother's sweaty hand held harshly onto the small child's tiny one as she led her to a seat in the long line of pews. They both sat down quietly. The Mother looked into the child's confused green eyes, still holding tightly onto her hand. Slowly, The Mother took in a shaky breath. "Tessa," She whispered. The young child's bang's scraped the top of her long eyelashes as she looked up into the older woman's cold gaze. "Yes, Mama?" She inquired softly. The Mother moved her hands to clamp around the child's arms. "Tessa.. You must listen to me," The woman told her frantically. The young child only nodded, staring her Mother down with those big green eyes. "There will come a time, very soon, where people will try to come get you." She told her. This only caused more confusion to arise in the eyes of the young child. "Come and get me? Who, Mama? What are you talking about?" The young child asked, panic infiltrating her voice. The Mother looked around deliriously before landing her eyes back on the child's green ones, her hands beginning to tighten their hold on the small arms of the child. "Bad people, Tessa. Bad people will try and get you. They will try and utilize your abilities, they will hurt you."<em>  
><em>The child sat for a moment in thought before looking up into her Mother's cold blue eyes. "Mama," She whispered. "What does 'utilize' mean?" She asked innocently. The Mother's cold gaze danced with amusement. "It means 'to use', young one. They will try to use you." The little girl sitting in her Mother's hard embrace looked thoughtful. "Can't they use me, Mama? I want to be useful." The sincerity in the little girl's words brought The Mother to a final conclusion. Her cold, thin hands gripped the young girl's arms with a frightening possesiveness. "No, Tessa! You cannot let them use you. You cannot let them get near you. They will hurt you," She stressed the word 'hurt'. The young child looked fearful. The Mother loosened her hold and instead gripped the young child's face. Her cold blue eyes clashed with the child's warm green ones. "You <strong>can<strong> be useful, kit. You **will** be useful. But you must stay with me, always. You must never leave my side. But most importantly," The Mother said, her cold eyes turning dominating and authoritive.  
>"You must always obey me."<em>

She had to run. She had to get away from here.. From The Mother. She couldn't ever go back. Not now, not after what she had done. Not after what The Mother had made her do. Unshed tears stung at her eyes at what she had done. She had done the very thing she never wanted.

Tessa ran through dim-lit halls, yellowed and worn down from many years of use. The white dress that fell to her ankles wasn't doing justice to her cause to run away. She had to calculate every step, so as to not trip over the white sheet.

Only one thought ran and reran through her head: "I am almost there, I am almost to the exit. I have to get away. I have to get away from here!"

She quickly gathered up her dress and ran faster. Her cold, bare feet pounded on the aged wooden floors of the hallway. The exit was coming closer and closer; the bright light of day shone through the cracks of the rectangle. Tessa ran faster, in fear and anticipation. Dropping the dress, she put both hands out in front of her and pushed open the door, quickly stepping outside.

A screech pierced the air. But who did it belong to? It belonged to the sixteen-year-old mutant clad in a simple white dress.

Tessa lifted both hands to cover her eyes. Bright skies, haunting clouds and a daunting sun all overlooked the poor young girl who's eyes had not seen daylight for twelve long years.

Shrieking in pain, she ducked her head and ran further, temporarily blinded by the brightness of day.

But even in so much pain, there was a part of her deep down that was satisfied.

Because she had done the impossible.

_She had escaped._


	2. Reminiscing

**A/N: Sorry for those of you who's characters had green eyes. There were just too many green-eyed people in this story, and honestly, in real life, most people's eyes are actually hazel; not green. So I'll be slightly changing the colors just to make thing's more original and less used, okay? If you truly hate it that much, keep in mind you gave me permission to use your character. OR, you could send me hate mail, and vent your anger. ;D Cause' honestly, I don't care either way. Yeah. You probably think I'm a cruel shutta. Okay, so I'll be honest, I wasn't given too much information about the family. So I'm just filling in the blanks here. Alright? I'll be doing that with everyone I find doesn't have all information out there. For anyone that was looking forward to this story, sorry I haven't posted and/or updated. I wanted to get two chapters up at near the same time so it wouldn't just be a, 'Oh look. A prologue. Well, I don't like it. Guess I won't be reading _THIS_ story." kind of thing. I needed a prologue so it would explain thing's later in the story, and I needed another chapter to get you hooked. This took me _forever_ to write! I mean honestly, I think I spent a few weeks on this. I just wasn't very inspired, and when I _was_ inspired; I was either busy, didn't have internet, didn't have a computer, or some other problem! Now that I'm working with Barbizon (LOOK IT UP! }:U I won't explain what it is.) thing's are even more busy. Plus my relatives are visitng, then I have to take care of my family, then I have dance.. Force. Then I have other stories to work on. GASP! Did I tell you yet? I got a birthday present from Amy Lee! Yep. Like, six new songs that are completed but are not on an album yet. Best birthday gift ever, from Evanescence. ;D October 30th, my birthday. Chapter introductions to new characters will probably be pretty short, just like this one. Regular chapters will probably be 7,000- 11,000 words. So don't fret. Anyways. I need new headphones. Wait, what? That wasn't what I was going to say! xD Sorry for the rant, the long wait, the shortness of the chapter, and the changes. Enjoy or hate; just don't forget to review. = u=b**

* * *

><p>Xavier awoke with a start. Reluctantly, he sat up from his comfortable bed. He sighed before rubbing the sleep from his face and turning on his nightstand lamp.<p>

It had happened again. Almost like a telepathic cry. A plea for help. A tremor.

It had been happening alot lately, and Xavier couldn't help but feel a new uprising coming. A new Evolution. Something was coming, he knew it. He just didn't know what.

With new motivation now sparked, he almost hurriedly sat himself in his wheelchair. He wheeled himself up and out of his bedroom, remembering he should have made his bed only as an afterthought. Quickly checking to make sure no one else was in his path, so as to not wake anyone up(And get there faster), he headed towards Cerebro. This time he would make a bigger attempt to figure out what was going to happen. He _would_ make progress.

The opening and closing groan of metal doors announced his arrival to the semi-small room. Quickly, he put on the metal head-hugger. There might not be much time. The tremors came and went, and whether they chose to stay was not his choice. Alot of the time it would come just as easily as it went; It wouldn't even stay for more than a minute. The presence of the tremor, this is.

Xavier closed his eyes and focused his energy; his power. His surrounding's, the world around him, dissipated. He was plunged into a different world, one of psychokinetic energy.

As quickly as possible, he searched for the source of the tremor. But it was exactly like so many times before. It was gone.

Dissapointment was short lived as something else brought up his attention. A new mutant discovery. Someone's powers were developing, and it was bringing up his - and Cerebro's - attention. And to be honest, the distraction from his disappointment was gladly invited; though he knew he would have to meditate more on this later.

The psychokinetic world was ripped away from him almost crudely, with it's abruptness. With a slight shake of the head to clear his mind of the Cerebro residue, Xavier opened his eyes to look at the returned computer screen in front of him.

"Bring up any information you can collect from this being," He commanded calmly. The computer did so. A teenage girl, probably about fifteen or sixteen by the looks of it, popped up on he screen. The figure spinned around in a circular motion several times while the computer spewed out information about the young girl.

"Identity match. Name: Quinn Delmond. Age: 16. Current location: New Jersey. Mapping further cordinates now." The computer monotonously announced. Xavier steepled his hands together and rested his chin on them while the computer did it's job. Once again he closed his eyes and focused; this time on the young girl named 'Quinn.'

/ / / / /

Quinn covered her face with her hands and shook her head furiously. "That was so embarrassing!" She cried. "Not to mention freaky," She added. Quinn sighed and walked hurriedly down the street back home. "I can't believe something like that happened. What are my parents going to say?" She asked herself. Saying the words out loud made it hit her like a rock. "I can't possibly tell them.." She murmured. "They'll never think of me the same ever again," She turned the corner and quickly made her way into the house, where she was greeted by the smell of dinner and the smiling face of her mother looking at her from the kitchen doorway. "Hey! Back so soon?" She asked. Quinn smiled - a little nervously - at her mother and stopped walking briefly to answer her. "Uh.. Yeah. Jordan and her family had to go shopping for dinner," She said. Her mother looked a little surprised, but kept her cheerful atmosphere. "Oh. Well, you know you could have gone with them. All you had to do was call and tell us," She smiled. Quinn tried to hold her smile. "No, that's okay. I'm actually pretty tired. I think I'm just going to head to bed," She said. Her mom looked surprised yet again, this time with a mixture of disappointment. "Oh. Well... don't you want to eat before you head to the sack?" She asked. Quinn started heading upstairs to her bedroom and answered over her shoulder, "No thanks. I'm not really hungry."

Quinn sat down in front of her vanity and looked in the mirror. She looked exactly like she always did. A dark green circle outlined her bright hazel eyes, casting an alluring affect on any passer by's. Her pixie-cut ebony hair framed her face carelessly, showing some of her inner carefree personality. But there was one thing that wasn't the same. Today, she had slipped. Today, she was a mutant.

She always knew there was something special about her, with how she involuntarily knew thing's about people's pasts that she shouldn't. How she understood they're feeling's like they were her own. But she would never have guessed that she was a mutant!

What was she going to tell her friend's? Her parents? She couldn't. How could they ever understand?

The sound of much shuffling downstairs broke her from her inner reverie. She narrowed her eyebrows in suspicion. "What the heck are they doing down there?" She asked herself, standing up and heading to the door. She opened the door quietly and poked her head into the hallway to peek downstairs. She heard everything normal. Quinn shrugged and went back inside her room, deciding it was nothing. Her mom probably just tripped and knocked a furniture item down, or something. She sighed and flopped down on her bed. "I really shouldn't be worrying about this. It's not like being a mutant will really change my life or anything... Will it?" The doubt poisoned the air with a sickening wonder. Quinn closed her eyes and sighed again, this time softer. Worrying wouldn't help anything.

She suddenly felt very heavy, like an invisible burden had been placed on her. "Maybe this is what it feels like to be stressed out," She mused curtly. Her eyelids were far too heavy to open again, and despite how early it was and how she wasn't exactly tired, she felt herself slipping away to unconsciousness.

"Quinn," A soft voice broke through her dreams. "Quinn, wake up, sweetie," The voice continued soothingly. Quinn reluctantly pulled away from her restful sleep and drowsily opened her eyes to meet her mother's smiling, but slightly worried face. Quinn yawned and stretched shortly before completely waking up to meet the day. Her mother patted Quinn's leg gently and stood up straight before gesturing to the only other occupants of the room. Quinn sat up and rubbed her eyes before looking up at someone she had never seen before. A woman with white hair and dark skin, dressed in a cream long-sleeved shirt and simple jeans, stood in her room. The woman smiled warmly with a mother's gentleness at Quinn before holding out her hand for her to shake. Quinn took it kindly and shook it, murmuring a, 'How do you do?'

The dark-skinned woman's bright blue eyes locked onto Quinn's hazel ones. "Hello, Quinn. I am Ororo, but if you wish, you may call me Storm." She said. Quinn smiled back at the woman. "Nice to meetcha, Storm," She said, before turning to her mother quizzically. Her mother clapsed her hands together in front of her and looked from the woman named Storm, to her daughter, then back again. "I.." She began. Her mother seemed to be at a loss for words. She looked to her daughter with a million different emotions swimming in her eyes. "Storm is here to take you to a real nice place called the Institute, Quinn." She said, right to the point. Quinn looked at her mother in disbelief. An institute? They were shipping her off to a school? Or maybe not? It sounded more like a mental hospital.

Catching onto Quinn's discomfort, her mother quickly continued. "Me and your father have talked about it, and we decided this was the best thing for you." Quinn still looked at her mother incredulously. "Your... Your shipping me off to a private school?" She asked. Her mother quickly put her hands in front of her in defense. Her expression looked as if she had just remembered something she had forgotten to mention. "I.. No! Well.." She bit her lip. "We just think this is the best thing for you. For you and your.. abilities." She said. Quinn looked off at her mother in slight fear. "My... Abilities?" She asked. Her mother nodded gently. "Yes. We.. We've both noticed the change in you, Quinn," She said. Quinn listened intently, waiting for judgment. Her mother instead smiled sadly. "We can't help you with this one, sweetie. We can't help you control this," She gestured to Storm. "But these people here can. We've been looking into this school, actually, for quite awhile. Then the headmaster came, and we decided this would just be best." She said. Quinn frowned at Storm before looking back at her mother. "We still love you. Always know that, Quinn. We love you, and we always will," She said.

Something in Quinn clicked with those few words. Her parents still loved her, even if she was a mutant. Though the decision was very abrupt, she understood, and maybe even approved of it. She looked back at Storm. "You mean to tell me, that you can help me control my powers?" She said. The word 'powers' felt funny. But the thought of control over her mutation was all she could ever want and dream of. Storm smiled. "With your assistance, yes. The institute is a place of refuge and learning for all mutants, you included." She said.

Quinn looked at her in thought. Control? Refuge? It didn't sound nearly as bad as it did in the beginning. The thought she would really, truly, belong somewhere sparked hope and want in her heart.

Coming back to reality, she looked at Storm and smiled slightly in excitement. "When do I pack?"


	3. A fishy situation

**A/N: ****SilverStarsOfQuebec: Yeah, you'll find alot of grammer mistakes with me. LOL. I have close to no grammar.. Wait.. How do you spell that? Point taken. I'm lucky I can even write stories! Lol!  
><strong>**StormyNightengale: This story will have alot of hinting. I don't put in alot of details on purpose. It causes for anticipation for further explanation, so on and so forth. Everything will be explained later.  
>When you see a language you don't understand, the translation will be at the end of the chapter.<br>This chapter was originally much much longer, but I had to cut it down in order for it to make at least half a bit of sense. Sorry.  
><strong>**Random rant: Ahh. Last night was wonderful. Blackberry wine. Mmm. I'll be enjoying these next few weeks of the celebration of my birthday. Thank you Grandma for the wonderful night! **

* * *

><p>Tessa trudged through the empty streets of an unknown city with her head faced towards the ground. Her soft, bare feet were sore and bleeding from walking endlessly on the hard cement sidewalks of the outside world. It had been nearly two weeks since she had run away from Mother.<p>

Her head still faced towards the ground, she wrapped her uncovered arms around herself in a feeble attempt to warm up. "Mother.." She whispered almost inaudibly. The darkness of the night was closing in around her, making her feel vulnerable and empty. "It is so cold. I'm lost and alone, and this world is so cruel," She was referring to one of the many times no one had shown her any comfort. The first day she had escaped, she was temporarily blinded by the bright sun. When she had cried for help, she was only shunned and beaten.

It would seem whatever city The Mother had been living in was not a friendly one.

And now, Tessa was alone in this world. There was no Mother to take care of her, no bed to go to sleep in at night, no warm blankets to keep away the cold. But she couldn't go back. She would never be able to go back.

The feeling of bumping into someone broke her from her internal musing's. "Eek!" Tessa squealed. She looked up, startled, at what - or who - she had run into. She was met with piercing blue eyes and a frowning expression on a beautiful face. "I.. I am sorry," She quickly retracted. The tall, thin woman in front of her showed no real expression in reply to her apology; but instead simply continued to frown. Tessa expected this kind of response; it had become almost custom in the new world she had been newly exposed to.

She stared at the beautiful woman for a few more seconds. She seemed to be analyzing her. Tessa squirmed under the woman's gaze and decided it best to simply walk around her.

When she was a few steps away from the woman, she was relieved to find she wasn't followed or stopped. She looked over her shoulder to glance a last time at the ebony-haired female, but found she was no longer there.

/ / / / /

Macklin's eyes were as wide as they could possibly go, and not just from being in the water. She had just barely dodged another spear that had been aimed at her.

_These Americans.. They never stop, do they? _She thought angrily. This was only one of the many times she had been shot at by local fishers, and it was getting tiresome. _Je ne serai pas capable de courir beaucoup plus longtemps. _

She didn't have time to continue her frantic thinking as she was forcibly pulled down by a large brown net. Panicked, she squirmed as much as she could to free herself of the nuisance; but found she couldn't break loose. Fear clenched her heart for a moment in time. Was this the end?

It couldn't be! She was determined yet again to break loose. Using her many sharp Mako teeth, she ripped a good sized hole in the brown net, allowing her to free herself easily. She wouldn't be captured. Not now, not today, not ever. Who cares if those fishermen were curious about a Mako Shark being in American waters? They could just keep on being curious, because she wasn't going to be the one to explain.

She shrieked in pain at a searing feeling on her back fin. Someone had been able to hit her.

She felt herself floating up to the surface, but also felt her mutation weakening; allowing her to have a more human visage.

This _was_ the end. When she reached the top, it was all over. She would lose.

Macklin felt the cold sea air sting her face and the brightness of the day shine in her eyes. She closed her eyes and waited a few moments, anticipating pain or murmurs. But none came.

She opened her eyes again and looked around, confused. The few boats that had been full of anxious fishermen was leaving!

She didn't have time to wonder about the strange happening. Her own blood was pooling around her, and darkness was edging in on her vision.

The last thing she heard was the sound of a jet and the voices of worried people.

* * *

><p>*I will not be able to run much longer.<p> 


	4. Hydrated

Erik paced slowly in front of his cold metal desk in troubled thought. The sound of the door opening and closing brought an end to his pacing and made him look up at his expected visitor.

"You called for me?" Zara asked. Erik stood in front of her in a thinking pose for a few moments before nodding. "Yes. I have a mission for you," He said. She simply raised an eyebrow, showing she was listening. Erik crossed his arms over his chest and looked her in the eyes through his metal helmet. "There is a young girl that has brought up my attention," He hinted. She stared back at him questioningly.

"I want you to... Persuade her to join us." He said. "If you fail, do not take her by force," He said. Zara was now blatantly curious. Usually he would take those he wanted by force, with or without their consent. "This is a special case.. And I feel that planting a seed will be far more fruitful for us than forcefully bringing her to our service."

/ / / / /

Tessa stopped in front of an open-late restaurant and looked through the window longingly. The smell of freshly-cooked food wafted outside and into her nostrils, sending a needy grumble through her near-empty stomach.

She had seen a hobo scavenge through a dumpster for food, and followed his example. By doing this, she had been able to survive; though not content. Maybe running away wasn't for the best after all.

Tears stung her eyes as helplessness sunk in. She had no money for food, and was tired of the garbage she called 'edible.'

"Hungry?" Asked a feminine voice. Tessa looked up, startled. In front of her was a slightly familiar figure; a tall woman with long ebony hair and piercing blue eyes. Too weak and starving to be cautious, she simply nodded. The woman with dark hair glanced inside the restaurant, then looked back at Tessa. "If you wish, I could buy you something to eat." She said motherly. Now Tessa knew this was too good to be true. "At what cost?" She asked. The woman just smiled. "At the cost of nothing, except you listen."

Tessa looked down at her beyond-dirty dress. It had at one time been white, but now it was blemished and dirty beyond repair without the help of a washing machine. She looked back up at the offering woman and felt more tears sting her eyes. "I could not possibly go in there like this," She said. The dark-haired woman looked pitifully at Tessa before stepping closer. "My name is Zara," She said, taking out a bottle from a small pack at her waist. "Some people call me Evine, though for awhile now I have been known as 'Hydra.'" She continued. Zara uncapped the bottle in her hand and then made a motion with it.

Tessa watched in pure amazement as a transparent liquid simply floated from the uncapped bottle, then came closer to her, until it touched her face. The water that was seeming to magically float caressed her face and arms, cleaning off any stray uncleanliness that may have been there. It streamed through her hair and over her dress, washing away most of the dirt and grime. When the treatment was through with, the dirtied water took upon the form of a cat and ran away into an alley, never to be seen again.

Tessa stared open-mouthed at the beautiful woman named Zara for a few long moments before finally being able to utter, "How.. How did you do that?"

Zara smiled and put the bottle away before she gently laid a hand on Tessa's back, softly pushing her towards the door of the restaurant. "How about you let me explain that over dinner?"

They quietly found a table, and Zara ordered something for Tessa to eat, before she finally started to explain.

"Like you, I'm a mutant," She said. Tessa looked at Zara half surprised, and half fearful.

"You.. You have come to take me away, to use me, haven't you?" She asked. Zara looked solemnly at her for a few moments before answering, "No. But I **have** come to talk to you."

A waitress came and delivered Tessa's meal, asked if there was anything else, and upon Zara excusing her, left. Tessa looked at the meal only briefly in suspicion before giving into temptation and beginning to devour the food. Zara explained while she did so.

"I work for - and live with - an association called The Acolyte's. We are a strong band of mutants who believe in the possible peaceful future for all mutants, but know that peace doesn't come without war." She said. Tessa stopped gulping down her food for a moment and nodded. "Of course not. I have studied every nation's history, and through my research, have found that no amount of peace comes without prior destruction. Or in your case, war." Zara nodded. Tessa resumed eating. "Then you know the undeniable truth. War is coming; this one between humans and mutants." She said. Tessa again stopped eating. "I _have_ seen interesting behavior in those who are not mutant... They shun those who are as if they are monsters. Perhaps you are correct in your speculation of an oncoming war."

Zara frowned. "It's not just speculation. It's fact." She said. Tessa looked solemnly at Zara before continuing to eat. "I have been sent here to warn you about it, and if possible, get you to join us in our quest of freedom."

Tessa put down her eating utencils, finished with her meal. "I am unsure." She said, putting her hands in her lap. "But let it be known that if a war indeed does come, I will be prepared to defend myself from those who oppress me."

Zara paid for the meal and walked her out of the restaurant. When they were outside, Zara looked to her for a final answer. Stomach full and mind clear, Tessa looked at Zara in contemplation before answering.

"Perhaps in time I will join you." She said. "But for now, I cannot. I feel... There is something else currently in store for me."

Zara nodded, prepared to now walk away. "Then we will be waiting for you."


	5. Echoes

**A/N: Ghhaaaaa! Silver, your right. I keep forgetting. See, I'm so used to the original X-Men.. xD; And in there, The Brotherhood would be what is considered an Acolyte in X-Men: Evolution. See.. Er.. I'm still viewing the 'Acolyte's' as people led by Fabian who go off and kill one of my favorite characters. Magneto. Grrrr I hated him. (Well, I still do. Comic grudges! XD) So.. So... So... I'll need to go back and fix that. xD;**  
><strong>Sorry guy's! My oops. I haven't even watched X-Men: Evolution in awhile now, so I'm doing all this from memory. xD;<strong>  
><strong>Plus it doesn't exactly help that I hurried through the last two chapters... Eheh..<strong>  
><strong>So, I'll go back and revise them, maybe make them longer. But AFTER I finish this chapter.<br>Ah. And to answer your question, yes. Tessa is very formal, and it's because she was never around people who spoke in American slang, and in her studies she was taught 'proper English.'  
>Oh boy. I really screwed up everyone's people royally, didn't I? At least Macklin. Sigh.<br>I'm sorry for not updating this earlier today. I got caught up in birthday shopping.  
>And yes. My grammar is horrible. Oh, and... I don't even know what a pronoun IS. (I never studied English. Nope. Instead of learning my native language in it's entirety, I was busy learning japanese. In other words, I get the answers right on my tests, but really have no idea what I'm doing. The fact you people understand my writing at all is brilliant. HA! And get this. My mother is an editor. Guess the editing doesn't run in the bloodline, eh? ;D)<strong>

* * *

><p><em>Tessa's bright young eyes stared interestingly at the spinning ballerina on her music box, while melancholy tunes played from it.<em>

_Mother hadn't allowed her to go outside for awhile now. But that was okay. She could still look outside through her lone window._

_Besides studying, there wasn't much to do. Occasionally she cleaned for Mother, to make her pleased; but even that only worked to an extent. There really wasn't much left to clean._

_Tessa's focus again became centered on the small spinning dancer in her music box. She twirled and twirled, always in the same position. But even so, Tessa was fascinated by her porcelain figure._

_The feeling of cold eyes on her back made her spin in her chair to face them. Lo and behold, there stood Mother. Tessa smiled feebly before waving her in, to which Mother easily obliged._

_She sat down next to Tessa and the two stayed in silence for awhile before finally, "Mother?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"What is she doing?"_

_Mother's eyes drifted to the ballerina before coming back to the smaller girl. "The Ballerina?" She quizzed. Tessa nodded. "Why, she's dancing, dear child. Don't you know that?"_

_Tessa looked up at her innocently. "Well... Of course. But," The five-year-old searched for the right words. "But what is she doing, Mother?"_

_Mother frowned before thinking for a second. After a few moments she replied, "She's ballet dancing."_

_"Ballet? What is ballet?" She asked._

_Mother raised an eyebrow. "It's a form of dance."_

_Still not completely understanding, but curious enough, Tessa said, "I want to learn ballet."_

_Mother nodded, unsurprised. _

_"Then I will teach you."_

_/ / / / /_

Enzo DeLuca angrily planted his face in his hands, lost in thought. It had been years. Years, but the pain hadn't faded or dulled.

It was one of those nights. He felt himself responsible for his brother's leaving. Maybe if he had made a bigger attempt to stop him, he wouldn't have gone to war.

He had thought about it a few rare time's; the possibility his brother left because Enzo wasn't a good enough brother to him. But every time there was that doubt, there was the truth. Of course his brother didn't leave because he wasn't good enough.

But he was gone. He was gone forever, and there wasn't anything Enzo could do about it. That's the part that made him angry. It made him furious. But why? Perhaps he simply had no other way to deal with the pain, than to vent it into anger.

A soft hand touching his shoulder made him jump in shock before involuntarily swatting it away.

"I... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," His foster mother's gentle voice said softly. Her voice calmed his nerves to an extent, but also made him realize just how angry he truly was.

"It's fine. I just didn't feel you enter the room.. That's all," He said through gritted teeth. He felt her sit down beside him on his bed. "I see. Your distracted. But by what?" She asked. He glared at her with his dead eyes before looking away.

She slid a hand onto his right shoulder soothingly. "Do you want to talk about it?"

He wavered for a second, actually thinking whether or not he could talk to her about his problems. But one glance back at his past and he decided against it.

He stood up and walked towards the wall, fists clenched. "No." He simply said.

His mother stood up once again and walked towards him. "Are you sure?" She asked, reaching a hand towards him. He turned around and slapped it away, glaring at her once again with his dead eyes. "Don't you dare pity me," He hissed.

She looked at him, shocked and hurt. "I... I just wanted to talk to you. If your hurting, you can talk to-"

"Shut up! I don't need your pity!" He yelled, though he distinctly felt tears forming in his eyes. He wasn't mad at her, and shouldn't be directing his hatred to her.. But he couldn't help it. It came naturally, after all the hard years of distrust. But now he was angrier. Not at her, but at himself. He had finally found a foster home with good parents who at least tried to understand him, and he was pushing them away.

"I.. I'm sorry." She resigned, leaving the room.

It only made him angrier. He was mad and frustrated at the world, and he pushed away the only person who had tried to help since his brother's passing.

Frustratedly, he slammed a tight fist into the wall he had been leaning on for support.

All too late, he realized his mistake. The moment his knuckles made contact with wallpaper, strong energy-induced sound waves were sent through the entire house, causing the structure to weaken and the furniture inside tumble.

The sound of something very heavy falling and crushing something fragile made his heart clench in fear. Using the vibrations in the air and the memorization of the layout of the house, he wrenched open his bedroom door and hurried down the hallway to the kitchen; where the sound had emanated from.

Fear and anger were aroused once again at the fact he was blind. He couldn't see what was happening or what had happened. He was lost.

Concentrating as hard as he could, he used the vibrations in the air to help create a visible scene in front of him.

He couldn't believe it. He wouldn't believe it. What he thought happened hadn't actually happened; it couldn't have.

"Oh my God! What have you done?" Came his foster father's voice. Enzo, terrorized, turned in the direction of his father's voice. "I-.." He hadn't the words.

It _did_ happen.

"It was an accident!" He cried in horror.

"MY WIFE!" His father screamed. "MY WIFE IS DEAD! YOU'VE KILLED MY WIFE!"

His father's screaming concluded his fears. He had accidentally done what he could only imagine doing in his nightmares. He had killed his mother.

Packing rations didn't even occur to Enzo as he bolted out the door and left the house, never to return.


	6. Jinxed

**Hey guy's. I feel bad for only uploading one chapter yesterday, but I was reaally busy. Same with today. We officially celebrated my birthday today, so it was hecktic.  
>Oh, and.. If you read chapter 5 already, go back and read it again. I updated it.<strong>

* * *

><p><em>"Tessa," Mother called. She looked over to her inquisitively. "Yes, Mother?"<em>

_"I have brought you a gift." Mother stepped aside, revealing a girl probably no more than two years older than Tessa. "This is Clarice. She will be teaching you how to play and master the piano,"_

_Tessa looked up at Mother, shocked. "Piano? You wish for me to learn the piano?" She asked._

_Mother nodded. "And, since you had earlier asked for a friend, I have given you one of young age."_

_Tessa eyed the girl named Clarice eagerly. She hadn't seen anyone even almost her age in three years. She stepped forward, ready to greet her, when Clarice beat her to it._

_"How do you do?" Clarice asked cheerfully, stepping forward and holding out a hand to shake. Tessa bashfully took it after a moment of consideration. "I.. I suppose I am alright. It is nice to meet you,"_

_"Ditto!" _

_A moment of silence passed as Clarice looked her over in silence._

_After a few minutes, Tessa couldn't handle it anymore. "Is there something wrong?" She asked. Clarice looked up, startled, as if she hadn't realized Tessa was still there._

_"Oh.. Er.. No. See, I just heard that.." She started. Tessa gestured for her to continue._

_Clarice grinned sheepishly. "Well, I just heard that you were a mutant."_

_Tessa suddenly felt very ashamed. She stepped back and stared at the floor in fear and shock before asking softly, "Are you.. Are you come to hurt me?" She asked. _

_Clarice looked absolutely stunned. "What? No way! I actually think it's cool your a mutant!" She exclaimed. It was now Tessa's turn to look shocked. "Wh...What?" She shrieked. _

_Clarice was obviously used to the reaction. "Yeah!" _

_She grabbed Tessa's hands in her own and grinned into her face cheerfully. "In fact, I think we're going to be great friend's."_

_/ / / / / _

Jennifer boredly leaned against the brick Bayville school wall. It was last period, but that was always the worst. That meant school was just about over, and there would be close to nothing to do for the rest of the day. Well, that is, except clean the orphanage. But who wants to do that?

Then again, it wasn't as if she had a _nice_ home to go to afterwards. No one loved her, no one was her family.

It never bothered her before. But as the years progressed, she found she longed for a family more than anything in the world.

"INCOMINNNG!" Cried a random person also in the hallway. Jennifer quickly looked to the side, just in time to see Evan Daniels zooming through the halls on his skateboard. After passing her, he turned around - still skateboarding - and shouted, "Hey! I'll see you guy's back at the Institute!"

Jennifer turned back to see that Kurt fellow and the Kitty-Cat-Goody-Two-Shoes walking down the hall not too far from her. Kitty raised an eyebrow, "Didn't have detention today?"

Kurt waved a hand in nonchalance, "Nahh. He's probably just ignoring it again,"

Jennifer smirked and looked back to where Evan had previously left. "Ever the troublemaker," She said. "..At least for himself."

"Yah got that right," Came an all-too-familiar voice. Jennifer turned, smiling, to meet the pale face of Rogue.

Suddenly something occured to Jennifer that hadn't before. Frowning, she looked at Rogue in question. "Hey, that Kurt guy and the Kitty-Two-Shoes live with Evan?"

Rogue raised an eyebrow before looking at the two disappearing figures of Kitty and Kurt. "Ah guess so. I'mean, they live at some kinda school of some sort. It's not just those three, either. A whole bunch'a kid's live there, including four-eyes and red-head," She said. Rogue shrugged and crossed her arms over her chest. "That professor a' their's has been tryna get me to join they're 'Family', or whatever they have at that place since Ah got here."

Jennifer perked up, now all ears. "Family?" She asked. Rogue looked at Jennifer oddly. "Uh.. Yeah."

Jennifer looked back down the hallway in thought. A family? They sure acted like it. Well, from what Jennifer had heard of families, anyway. She didn't have any real experience of her own.

Jennifer was tired of living day to day at that boring old orphanage, with cold-hearted people and depressing kid's. She had seen that Evan was special; there was no doubt about it. Then, at the last school football game, she had seen how special Scott was, too. If they were both special and both lived in the Mansion, surely she could live there too.

The Intstitute, eh? Sounds like something she was going to have to look into.

She could feel Rogue's gaze digging in on the side of her head. The only thing she muttered in response, was, "Interesting.."


	7. Life

**Sorry for not updating in a few day's. I've been researching more about X-Men: Evolution, and find that the deeper I search, the less abhorred I am by the series. It turns out the series wasn't meant to follow the original X-Men at all. So... I forgive the horridness of it. xD  
>But that also gives me a different insight to my different insight. Confusing, I know. Hmm...<br>Oh.. Guy's, I know this is really disappointing, but I don't think I'm going to be making my normal chapters 7,000-11,000 words long. See, I had planned on it, but that was before I actually started writing the actual chapters. Lol. xD;  
>So they'll probably only be 3,000-5,000 long.<br>... Or whenever I decide to cut the chapter. Sigh. I'm sure there has to be worse people than me.**

* * *

><p><em>1929, Lattingtown, New York<em>

_"Push!" Cried her maidservant. "Push!" She cried again. The efforts of both women were awarded by the sound of babies crying and a much blood covered infant. The prior pregnated woman lay back her head in pure exhaustion, relief and happiness flooding her entirety at the sight of her new child._

_"What is this?" The maidservant asked incredulously, a smile creeping onto her sweaty features. "God has blessed you with another child! A twin of the other!" She cried. The two rejoiced momentarily before continuing to push._

_When their hard work was again rewarded, the maidservant's smile vanished; leaving a horrified expression in it's wake. The mother who had just given birth looked on at her maidservant in worry. "What is it? What's wrong?"_

_The maidservant, after a moment of consideration, answered hesitantly, "I... I'm sorry, m'lady. Your second child is dead."_

_/ / / / /_

Daylight glared evilly through Tessa's eyelashes to her sore irises. She felt as if she had been walking for years, though in truth, only a few weeks. Her still bare feet were callused and bruised from the coarse ground, and despite her trying not to, her dress was worn and tattered. Overall, she really had no direction. She was wandering aimlessly through a cold dark world, no real quest to go on.

"What am I doing here?" She asked herself, yet again. It was a question she had often pondered, and it was beginning to wear down on her. The more she thought about it, the more she realized she had no ultimate purpose in the world; no journey to make, no goal to achieve. She was just there.

She hadn't realized, while she was in her own thoughts, that she had been slowly approaching a highschool. But now, standing right behind a metal fence, she could clearly see and make out the words every student was saying. People were in groups, sitting in tables, _on_ tables, steps, and everywhere else possible to sit. Other places there were people playing sports or simply standing in groups chatting.

_There is so much noise. _She thought restlessly.

"Your always goofing around!" A stern voice cut through the chatter; but didn't cause any strife amongst the rest of the students. Tessa turned to look at who had spoken, and found a table occupied by several different students, slightly removed from the rest of the school.

"And your seriously cramping my style!" Replied another voice, this time slightly accented.

"Listen!" The first voice. Tessa walked closer. Sitting in the table was a beautiful red-headed girl, a very skinny, very small built female brunette, a slightly muscular chocolate-skinned boy, and two arguing males.

"No, _you_ listen!" The second voice; though now upon closer inspection, turned out to be a skinny raven-haired boy. "There's a sound I want you to hear," He said. The boy he had been arguing with; a brunette with shades glued to his eyes, sat back and simply watched angrily.

"And it's-" Bamf!

Tessa blinked. There where the boy had been, was now a small ringlet of smoke; which the brunette boy was waving out of his face ravenously.

_He simply disappeared? _She stared at the place he had been, the brunette coughing and waving at the smoke all the while._ That band around his wrist.. Could it have perhaps been the cause? The technology the humans have made quite surpasses that which I had been expecting, therefore I would not be surprised if so. _

Tessa felt no more interest in the conversing of the group. As she walked away, she could hear the brunette saying, "I blew it, didn't I?" Followed by a feminine voice saying, "Ohh yeah." Then afterwards a masculine voice, "Big time."

But none of those voices mattered. She could feel eyes on her back, and that is what alone caught her attention. She glanced over her shoulder and saw two select people staring her down. One being the small brunette female that was sitting at the table with the arguing sentients, who was staring her down curiously; The other being a thin white-haired boy with a questioning expression.

Something about the thin boy's expression made chills run down Tessa's spine; something about him wasn't right. Something about him was darker than the rest of the students. She just couldn't place what.

She forced herself not to meet either of their gazes any longer and walked hurriedly away from the school. She couldn't get entangled with anyone.. but the distinct feeling of curiosity made her hide behind a tree and listen further.

"Hey Kitty, what are you looking at?" The chocolate-skinned boy asked. He turned to look at where her sight was pointed at, but saw nothing.

"There was-" The small girl wearing pink was interrupted by a loud ringing; which in turn made Tessa jump, startled.

She had listened enough. Why had she even stopped to? Whatever the reason, she was gone now.

Tessa broke out into a sprint away from the school, running through the streets without a care in the world.

She ignored the angry cries of the road-rage-happy drivers and simply continued her trek through the town, searching for the borders of the small place; where she would hopefully find peace and solitude.

_What a jest. There is no peace for me._

Tessa looked on in awe at the scene in front of her. She had run out of the borders of the town, and now was in the forests outlining it. All around her there was life; everything was thrumming and bursting with it.

Bright green, autumn-hued, and red-tinted leaves all fell to the ground in graceful motions, littering the forest floor with a canvas of color. Squirrels danced in the trees carelessly, birds sang to their hearts content, bug's skittered around for their next meal. It was all so lively.

It made her feel... powerful.

She felt stronger than she had ever felt before; like the life of the world around her was coursing through her very veins.

Tessa closed her eyes, in bliss; listening to the forest around her.

The sounds of life made her feel like she could do anything. Her body, her soul itself, felt lifted up and empowered; like an energy force that could never go out.

When she pulled herself away from her lazy musing's, she realized something terrifying.

The sound around her had stopped. The life, the action, it had stopped.

She was scared of what she would see.

She opened her eyes slowly, before she did indeed see the inevitable.

She screamed.


	8. Memories

**This has been translated to regular English. It was originally greek, then I decided I would translate it to old English, then I decided to make it regular English so you all could understand it. So the 'thee's and 'thou's are gone, and the 'shant's and all that other old English good stuff is all bye-bye.**  
><strong>In other notes...<strong>  
><strong>Play that funky music, White Boy! }:D<br>*Disco* Gosh, I feel so old. xD  
>One of my nieces say's I'm mean, the other one say's I'm old, and my little sister say's I'm a freak[Because of my 50's pants. ROFL]. What loving sibling's. :D<br>But enough rant. I know you all want a story. (Oh, gee. Maybe I really _should_ change the rating. I just know that someone is going to go, "Oh my gosssshhh that's not rated what you puuuttt! TOS, duuuuddde! Gaaawwwwdddddd, like, get a liiiiffffee~" And then I'll get in trouble or something. Sigh. Well.. After reading, YOU tell ME, because I can't tell.)  
>Oh. Also, did any of you read the OC application chapters I put out? When you submitted your character? Because I put the start and timeline in there.<br>Next chapter, I promise, will be full of your OC's. I needed to get the last two up for fodder.**

* * *

><p><em>700 B.C.E., Greece<em>

_"Eisenhardt.." Roxanne giggled. The man kissing her arm only smirked against her skin. "Aldric," She squealed. "You really need to stop! I'm serious.." She put on a mock pouting face. "If anyone else found out I were giving myself out for free... Well, my reputation would be ruined!"_

_Aldric ignored her pleas of stop and instead slid an arm around her waist, pulling her closer. "Come, now. I visit all the way from Germany, and I cannot enjoy the pleasure of having you?" _

_Roxanne ducked her head bashfully, looking up at him through long eyelashes. "Well, if you insist.."_

_"Yes, my beautiful harlot. Come."_

_/ / / / /_

Tessa clutched her head in pain and misery, a great headache left over from the memory. Slowly, she slid down against the brick allyway; still holding her throbbing head in her hands.

"Just who's memories are these?" She whispered to herself.

It wasn't the first time this had happened. Ever since she could remember, she had always had flashbacks or memories of a harlot woman named Roxanne. Even when she was little.

Often, this had been a horrible cause of identity crisis. Who was she, really? Roxanne, or Tessa? The memories of both people seemed so real. The experiences were so real. But which one was her?

It was like there was another person living inside of her, trying to take over.

But of course, that was impossible.

..Wasn't it?

"You!" A quite annoying voice rang out. Tessa turned to see a teenage boy with a club in his hands and an angry expression on his face; soon joined by about four other boy's. Tessa stood up abruptly, trying to ignore the throbbing in her head and the spinning of her vision; and instead focus on the person in front of her.

"I found you," He cackled darkly, obviously feeling triumphant. His expression then changed to that of unconcealed anger and hatred. "I saw what you did to the forest. Your a mutant!" He sneered. Tessa tried harder to focus on the face of the man, but her vision still swam. She took a step back, in caution.

"My father and I raised that forest. We nurtered those trees, we cut them down, we built them back up. We did everything there," He continued, his voice now taking on that of wist. He looked her straight in the eyes just then, malice evident. "And now you will pay." He readied his club.

"DIE, mutant scum!" He yelled.

Tessa prepared herself to block; years of training taking over. "I am sorry!" She cried, ducking not to get hit in the face with his weapon. She felt something very similiar to guilt spreading through her, as her vision began to return.

"It was an accident! I did not mean to! Please, forgive me!"

The boy wasn't listening anymore. He again brought up his bat-like club, swinging down to try and smash her skull. She barely made it in time to raise her hands above her head and prevent the deadly blow.

However, during her mishap, one of his accomplices had approached her; punching her in the gut. She refused to bend over in response and instead backed away two more steps.

The heat of battle flooded through her body. Her mind became more focused, her movements more smooth and fluid, and her strategy's more sharp. She didn't want to hurt these kid's. They couldn't possibly know what they were getting into.

The ebb of life that had recently flown through her returned, making her feel stronger than ever.

With the adrenaline pumped in her, she couldn't help but feel a sudden sense of pride. _I was born to be a weapon. Mother made it so._

She dodged another punch to the face and landed a spinning hook kick to one who had punched her gut. The unprepared boy landed gracelessly to the ground; probably knocked out or worse.

The recent guilt that had been slowly building suddenly came to a sky high momentum in her heart. Why had she done that? He didn't know; He wasn't trained. Why?

_Reflex._ The word echoed in her mind soundlessly.

The other three boy's that were ready to fight looked at her with fear and hate. The leading boy, holding the club, yelled a battle cry and started colorfully spewing out how much distaste he had for mutants.

She closed her eyes and forced herself not to fight back.

An immense pain ruptured through her left shoulder, knocking her against the wall on her right and crushing her body. She cried out in pain, but found that only made the searing worse. She had accidentally bit her lip during the fall, and now it was openly bleeding; tarnishing her already tattered dress.

She opened her eyes to view the angry teenagers, half-expecting to see her death, but found the one with the club was gone. The other three that were left were huddled, nodded and laughed sadistically with whatever plans they were making.

In a poor attempt to get away, she scrambled to her feet and tried crawling away; but didn't make it even four feet before she was roughly grabbed by the back of her garments. She was pulled back and thrown again into the brick wall of the alleyway, scathing and bruising her already beaten body.

"Get her!" One of the boy's shouted. The three that had been huddling were broke apart, revealing the one with the club; and a stack of stones. Simultaneously, all four of the boy's grabbed a rock and threw it at her.

The pain was too much. The stones they threw left gashes in her still pale skin, ripping the flesh and letting blood gush out unceremoniously.

She had never been knocked out before. Was this what it was like?

Maybe she would die.

What purpose did she serve, anyway? If she let herself die here, nothing would be lost.

..Or would it?

The question nagged at the back of her mind.

But the pain, as they continued to throw rocks, caught up with her and made the decision for her. Black caved in on the edges of her vision.

Then there was nothing.


	9. Stay

**Oh Force. Such a long character list. Dx** **I probably should've thought this out better. Okay... I want to change a few thing's. Just little thing's. Like.. Oh, I don't know... NOT MAKING JUBILEE LOOK LIKE A FREAKIN... GHDIOFOLHDLFKH GRRR. That's right! I speak BAD gibberish! }:U And changing how Magma looks. I mean... they reeeaally overused the look.(A.K.A. No bangs, long hair, brown.) X23 looked like that, Magma looked like that, Jubilee looked like that, Danielle looked like that... So, look up a picture of the original X-Men Jubilee and Magma to see how they look.(Only, try and picture Jubilee with longer hair.) (Okay, so you don't get too confused, 'Amara' is also known as Alison.) (Oh gosh. I really need to stop doing this. :/ Alright, alright! I'll try to make it more "Evolution"-y.) Plus.. I'm throwing in a little surprises. Okay, aLOT of surprises. eue Oh, and... In the last chapter I said it would be full of your OC's.. Well, maybe I exaggerated. Maybe not _full_ of them. I can only do so many people at a time. Hot hot! Hot chocolate! Here we only have one rule: Never, ever, let it cool! LOL I'm a freak. I blame my mother. XD I got a little undetailish and bad writing-ish nearing the end. Sorry. I got uninspired and stuff. ("And stuff." XD I can feel my writing slipping away from me! Lol!) Woot. 4,000 something words/characters/whatever. Score. XD I had so much fun writing about the Danger Room. :D The next chapter is going to be totes longer, promise. (Oh god. I really AM turning into Kitty!)**

* * *

><p>"LOOKOUT!"<p>

BOOM!

Alison had just barely rolled out of the way of the explosion of another car. "Thanks for the heads up!" She yelled over the sounds of battle, throwing in a slight salute to Scott. He nodded curtly in response before sending a burst of energy towards an attacking sentinel.

Alison was on her way to join him when a thunderous wave from the ground knocked her off her feet. She quickly scrambled back onto them and looked at the new giant crevice in the ground, where another Sentinel was emerging from. Fires danced around the city they were currently fighting in, casting a reddish glow all around. The Sentinel that had just rose from the ground made it's way towards Alison, lifting a gigantic arm and preparing to shoot at her.

Across from the four-way street, Jynx was running to her aid, spreading relief throughout the lone lava girl. Alison side-stepped towards her direction, making sure not to accidentally get into any crossfire. The Sentinel that had been ready to shoot at her had placed a shot to the ground where she previously stood, sending waves through the ground and the air. The waves from behind almost knocked her off her feet, causing more concentration to be placed in the quest of getting to Jynx. The second their backs were against each other, they got into a duel-fighting stance.

Another Sentinel crashed through the ground.

"What happened to Jean?" Alison yelled.

Jynx threw a smirk over her shoulder. "I think goody-two is holding her own," She yelled back, before throwing all focus into sending a purple wave of energy towards an approaching Sentinel on her side. The Sentinel stumbled and almost fell, but quickly regained it's posture.

Alison looked around frantically until she spotted the red-head. She was fighting quite successfully next to Scott, decimating multiple Sentinels at a time.

"Guess we better start moving, then!" Alison roared. She focused her mutation and flexed her arms at her sides, feeling her body forming into molten lava. She lifted her magma arm in front of her face then waved it outward like a bat, extremely hot rocks shooting from it and planting themselves in the boot of a Sentinel, melting it's leg and causing it to fall.

The Sentinel that had been walking towards Jynx now loomed over her menacingly, bringing out a large hand and reaching to pick her up and capture her. Jynx stepped back involuntarily, bumping into Alison and knocking her out of her Magma form. Both girls fell over and ended up sitting on the ground, left to stare at the glowing eyes of the Sentinel and prepare for doom.

Alison lifted up a hand and was about to shoot, when someone else got to it before her. Fireworks crashed into the Sentinels mechanical skull, knocking off the head entirely. Both Alison and Jynx looked over to their side to see Jubilee grin at them before turning away to help someone else.

Both girls helped each other up, then looked at yet another Sentinel approaching. The two exchanged a glance and both created a plan, as if they were telepathic and could communicate without words. With a short nod from Jynx, Alison built herself into Magma again and leaned down, creating a footstool with her hands. The two situated themselves, then Jynx stepped into her hands. With Jynx's extra jump and Alison's throw, Jynx was hurtled toward the Sentinel, successfully landing on it's shoulder. Jynx clung onto the metal robot, then focused her power into a greater amount. Purple electrical current-like waves devoured the robot, causing it to break apart and fall away to the ground. Jynx leaped off the shoulder of the thing before it did, though, and added a flip in the jump just to be the highlight of the show.

While the thing crashed, Jynx looked at Alison with a grin on her face.

"Nice!" Alison exclaimed, grinning.

"Thanks!" Jynx responded. "Wolverine taught me that the other day." She said proudly.

Alison quickly spurt magma onto the downed Sentinel, making sure Jynx's effect didn't wear off before she had a chance to destroy the enemy once and for all.

The two looked around to see if anyone was injured or needed help, but found none. Simultaneously, they relaxed. The fires around them died down until they were gone, the cracked building's shrunk until they were no more, and the roads and environment itself faded away to nothing.

"Simulation: Complete."

The monotonous words of the computer were gladly accepted by all the tired-out students making up the Danger Room.

"Man!" Evan cried, somewhere to the side of Alison and Jynx. The spike's that had been armed and ready sticking out of his arms and torso shrunk back into his skin. "The Professer's been working us hard lately! What's he expecting? An all-out war?" He rubbed his shoulder.

"Maybe." Scott curtly interjected, a hint of suspicion evident in his voice.

Nothing more was said.

/ / / / /

The beeping of a nearby heart monitor brought the world back into focus. A dull headache throbbed distantly in Tessa's worn and confused mind; something she was gradually becoming accustomed to.

_Where am I?_ The words rung through her head drowsily, as if some sedatives were wearing off.

_"You are at my Institute." _A calm and warm voice plowed through her scattered thoughts.

Tessa opened her eyes, alarmed. She was hearing voices.

She frantically looked around. She was in a bright room full of medical supplies and bed's, and even an examination table. The walls were a steel blue and looked shiny, and on the top and bottom of the walls were bright lines of light. There was different types of technology dotting throughout the room, giving off little 'beeps' every now and then. And yet, though it seemed it should be, Tessa knew this could not be a hospital. Nothing in the large room looked like anything Mother had described.

She had to get away from here. The smells of this place.. something about it made chills run down her spine.

She sat up abruptly, only then realizing her arms were tangled with heart monitors and other medical thing's. She ripped them off carelessly and leaped down off the high table she had been laying on. Her bare feet hit the floor with a silent 'thud' and sent adrenaline up her leg's. A draft of fresh and slightly cold air rushed through her leg's, making her realize what her attire was. Her dress was gone, and was replaced with a standard medical patient slip. She practically jumped with surprise that her clothes were gone and hugged the slip to her body closer as if that would make more cloth appear.

Now she really had to get out of here. She had to find her dress.

'But why?', you may be asking. Though the thing was worn and tattered, she felt a certain bond to the garment. It was the only thing she owned for herself, besides her bra and underwear.

She broke into an all-out sprint to the large round door-like thing indented in the wall: Perhaps her only escape.

When she got there she slid her hands all over it, in hopes there was maybe a secret doorknob or passageway to open the thing.

Something blinking to the side of the circular door caught her attention. She moved towards it and examined the technology, confused about what it was, exactly. Button's aligned the bright square, and a small screen connected just above it. Curious, she pressed a finger to it.

"No DNA match." She jumped and hugged the finger she had pressed to it, startled by the electronic voice. Wide-eyed with curiosity, she leaned forward and looked at it in speculation.

"This is the technology of the being's on this Earth?" She half-asked herself. "How peculiar.. This is very queer indeed!"

She returned to palming the door.

About five minutes passed before she finally gave up on opening the door and decided instead to think up a plan.

"Perhaps it is voice-operated?" She stared at the door as if it would give her an answer. "Open." She commanded.

Nothing.

She furrowed her brows in frustration.

"I did not want to do this."

She raised up both hands and prepared to use her mutation, when the door opened for her. She jumped almost three feet into the air, frightened that it had opened just like that, and also that there was a person on the other side.

"Good morning," The woman smiled. Tessa looked at her curiously, forgetting all her training to be cautious and instead staring at her. The woman in front of her was quite muscular in stature for a woman, and though her hair was white, her flawless chocolate skin begged to differ on her age. The woman had the most beautiful features Tessa had ever seen, and her eyes were the most radiant shade of blue ever thought possible.

"You .." She started, easily getting distracted and lost in the endless sky of blue called her eyes. She woman chuckled brightly, her blue depths lighting up with kindness as she did so. "Yes, I suppose I am not the face you were expecting,"

It took a few moments for the words to proccess. When they finally did, Tessa jumped slightly and looked wide-eyed up at the beautiful woman. "I.. No! No, of course not. I.. Wait.." She was confused as to what she was really trying to say.

The woman laughed in high spirits and placed a hand on Tessa's shoulder, leading her towards a chair on the side of the room. She motioned for her to sit, getting ready to do so herself. Tessa did so, followed shortly by the white-haired woman. Judging by the way she seated herself, this was very obviously going to be a long talk.

"I am Ororo Monroe. However, you may call me Storm." She stated. Tessa nodded curtly in response, training all her focus on listening to her words instead of getting lost in her eyes. "You are probably wondering why you are here. So I will tell you," She folded her petite chocolate-skinned hands in her lap, watching Tessa very closely, looking for any sign of a response in her expression. The most she got was a determined expression.

"You are here for your own protection. As you may have noticed, there are many evils in our world," Tessa supposed she was referring to the boy's who had attacked her.

"What you may not have noticed, is that of lately there have been people looking to capture you." Tessa had an obvious look of confusion on her face. "I have not seen any being try to capture me except you." Tessa said. Storm smiled as if she hadn't just been accused, but instead a child had just made a humorous antic. "That is because the people who are after you are very discreet. And I assure you, we have not captured you. The X-Men do not capture people,"

A bit of curiosity to leaked into Tessa's expression. "The X-Men?"

Smile never faltering, she answered, "Yes. The X-Men are a band of mutants working together to fight for the good of mankind. Here at the Mansion," She gestured around. "We learn to control our powers, as I earlier said, for the good of mankind."

That caught her attention. She stiffened as the mention of 'powers', even though the word 'control' came before it. Tessa had... relatively good control. Mother had made sure of that.

Storm's expression changed to a motherly kindness. "We were actually hoping that you would stay with us here," She said.

The words sounded too familiar.

Mere day's ago she had been asked the very same thing, but by a different group of people. The X-Men, the Acolyte's.. Somewhere, a small part of her didn't think there was much difference. They were both just two groups squabbling over world views, needless whether the Acolyte's made more sense or not.

But there was another part of her; the rest of her. The rest of her liked the idea of helping someone, even one person.

Tessa bowed her head in shame, as if the woman in front of her knew all she had ever done.

She had done so much damage.

'Working together to fight for the good of mankind.'

Mankind. In other words, humans.

A sigh made it's way through her lip's unconsciously.

There _was_ a difference. The Acolyte's accepted war just as she did. Of course it was coming.. It always will be. There will always be a fight to triumph over, a battle to win, a challenge to conquer. There will always be war.

But the X-Men were something completely different. They were pacifists, it sounded like. They fought _against_ war, and not just for mutants(Supposing they fight for mutants as well), but for humans.

Was it possible?

Tessa furrowed her eyebrows in contemplation.

Of course it wasn't. It wasn't possible to be rid of war. It wasn't possible to make peace.

But it is possible to make allies.

Tessa looked up at the woman named Storm. "If I stay here.." She started slowly. There was a desperation in her eyes that Storm had never seen before. Quite frankly, it was.. a little startling. "Will I be able to help people?" She asked.

War was inevitable. She knew that. But there was something inside her, a hunger. It wanted to help people, to save people. It wanted to make up for what she had done - if that was possible.

Storm's shocked and concerned expression changed to a bright smile. "If you so choose."

She left out the part that X-Men usually do the 'helping'. And Tessa wasn't an X-Men.

..Yet.

Tessa looked at her brokenly. "I am still.. unsure.. whether to stay or not. May I perhaps have some time to think about this decision?"

Storm looked at her as if a four-year-old had just asked if they could go to their room or not. "Of course, dear child."

She didn't mention or ask about the voice she had heard when she first woke up; in truth she was quite embarrassed about it because she thought she was hearing thing's.

Tessa nodded, then got straight down to business. "Where are my garments?"

Storm's face again broke out into a smile. "The Professor had them washed and cleaned. They were in quite poor condition!"

Tessa tilted her head to the side. "The Professor?"

Storm nodded, smile ever evident. "Yes. The Professor is the owner of the Mansion.. and our teacher. He is a mutant like you and me; a telepath."

Well. That explains a bit.

Tessa sat there staring at Storm, shocked.

A telepath?

The words took a minute to sink in. When they finally did, the embarrassment that she _wasn't_ hearing voices clearly faded as quickly as it came. It was replaced with rising fear in her eyes and horror on her face, followed by irrational thoughts. The plans she may or may not have been making to stay here were vanished.

A telepath. The voice she had heard.

He had been roaming around in her mind.

Surely these kind people wouldn't think the same of her if they knew all she had done.

She told her where to get her dress, and with that, she was off.

She knew this had to be it. The feeling of something more.

But maybe it wasn't. The feeling was still there, though now it was more of a nagging in the back of her thoughts. There was something coming; but she didn't know why or how she knew, or _what_ exactly was coming.

It took her a few moments to find the room Storm had directed her to. This Mansion really was a Mansion. It was huge! She may or may not have gotten lost a few times, and she may or may not have bumped into a few students along the way, but.. She finally made it there, at least.

She stopped by the doorway of the room she was told she would find her dress. Inside the open doorway was a red-haired girl, organizing something or the other. Not wanting to barge in, and not exactly knowing what else to do, she knocked on the wall. The girl inside turned her head with a slight smile on her face, quickly turning to shock after seeing Tessa. "Oh! Uh.. Hello," She said.

Tessa looked with wonder at the beautiful girl.

She wore a simple green T-shirt and had on jeans that hugged her hips just right, and the ensemble was complete with ordinary sneakers. Her fiery hair hung carelessly around her shoulders, creating a waterfall of crimson all around her. She had a perfect hourglass figure, and actually looked quite strong for a teenage female. But neither of those thing's are what really caught her attention.

Tessa stepped closer without thinking, staring straight into her target of wonderment.

Her eyes. They were a pale green, with a few darker green specks zigzagging all around her irises. But that wasn't the point. They were _green. _Tessa had never seen anyone else with green eyes, and it filled her with wonder and amazement. Sure, they weren't forest green like hers, but they were still green!

Before she knew what she was really doing, she reached up a hand to touch them.

The red-haired girl jerked away involuntarily. "Uhh..." She laughed nervously. "Yes, those are my eyes."

Tessa reeled her hand back in realization, ripping her gaze away from the girl's eyes and instead staring at the floor in shame. "I.. I am sorry. I just.. I have never seen someone else with green eyes before."

"Oh. Er.. Well, that's alright. Just... don't do it again." She chortled humorlessly. Tessa nodded. "I'm Jean Grey," The red-haired girl said, sticking out a hand. Tessa shook it, grateful for the distraction. "I am Tessa." She stated simply - and quite monotonously. It's not that she meant to sound uninterested, it's just that she didn't know how else to introduce herself. And quite frankly, her voice was monotone by habit; A trait she inherited from Mother.

"Have you seen my dress? It is white." That was really the only way she could think to explain it.

The girl raised an eyebrow and looked around where she had previously been turned to, before quickly returning to Tessa. "You know what? I think I saw it a few minutes ago. Hang on, let me go get it for you."

She left swiftly, her movements not graceful like Tessa had expected, but quite casual; with a very defined independence.

She girl named Jean returned, dress in hand. "Here you go,"

Tessa might have snatched it out of her grasp quicker and more possesively than she meant to. "Is there a place I can change?" She asked. Jean pointed her to a room on the right, and she quickly went to dress. When she came out, she felt much more comfortable and sighed in contentment.

"So..." Jean started. Tessa looked up at her. Sheesh. With all these tall people, she felt short.

"I've never seen you around here. Are you new?" She asked. Tessa tilted her head to the side and looked bashfully at the red-haired wonder. "I.." She didn't exactly know what to say. "I.. am.. unsure."

Jean raised an eyebrow. "Oh."

A moment of slightly uncomfortable silence passed between the two, before both seemingly decided to break it at the same time.

"Well I-" Jean.

"I think-" Tessa.

Jean laughed and put a hand behind her head. "Uh.. you first." She smiled. Tessa cracked a small smile of her own. The air was no longer much uncomfortable. "I think I was supposed to go meet The Professor," She said. "But I do not know where he would be."

Jean perked up and grinned. "I think I can help you with that."

The two walked through the long hallways and took many corners, all of which Tessa was memorizing. Mostly for escape purposes, but eh.

Jean didn't ask any questions along the way, making Tessa relax a bit. It was as if she somehow knew Tessa didn't want to be questioned too much.

When they finally made it to their destination, Jean opened the door to let her in, and closed the door behind her; leaving Tessa in the room alone with this 'Proffessor'.

An aging bald man sat in front of a medium-sized desk, fingers steepled and expression looking to be in deep thought; probably on the paper he was staring at. The moment Tessa stepped a few feet into his office, he tore his eyes away from his paper and smiled at her warmly.

"Welcome, my child." Professor Xavier said. Tessa sheepishly took a seat in front of his expensive oak desk. If this was the man who wandered through her mind, surely he had seen thing's she had not wanted. Obviously he had called her to his office to kick her off his premises.

Xavier quirked an eyebrow in amusement. "I don't know what your so scared about, young one,"

Tessa sunk back into her seat. "I... Am unsure whether I should confide in you." She stated. Xavier only smiled. "That is a choice you will have to make on your own."

She contemplated for a moment in silence. "I am... wary of you." She finally said.

He just smiled and nodded. "Yes, I suppose there is reason for that."

"You are a telepath." She stated. Thank you captain obvious.

"Yes. But I never go into anyone's mind without their permission."

Shock. Did he just say that? For real?

Relief washed over her, though it was quickly followed by caution. He could always be lying.

He went over practically everything Storm had, except he stressed more firmly on the subject she was welcome to stay at the Mansion. He also mentioned quite firmly that she was welcome to stay until she made a decision.

A place to stay, away from the cold, while being able to make a decision? Sure. Why not?

There was one condition though. While she was there, she had to abide by the rules of the household. In other words, DR sessions,(He explained what that was. He also said it was optional.) Schooling, don't make fights, etc.

School sounded nice. She didn't exactly get to finish her education, did she? At least she didn't think so. Fights were on the list of what not to do anyway, so..

He made it sound awfully inviting. It was just until she made up her mind, right?

"I will stay."


	10. With Time

**I'm so sad right now. I made a perfectly good chapter and it got deleted because I made a stupid mistake. So since I had to redo this chapter from memory, please accept my dearest apologies that this probably won't be the best I've ever written. :'(  
>It's a sorry excuse for a lame chapter. Dx<br>I'm so sorry, guy's. I'm so sad for losing my chapter. I should have had a backup. I'm so stupid. I'm sorry. :(**

* * *

><p><em><strong>You will never be loved. You were never concieved in love. You will never even be liked.<strong>_

_**You will only rise above.**_

_**But best of all, my dear.. **_

_**You will be hated. You will be hungered for.**_

Tessa clung onto her head for dear life as if that would make the headache go away.

She hadn't left her room since she had been given it. Tomorrow she would have to go to school; something she hadn't dreaded until 46 hours ago.

The memories were getting worse. They were becoming more vivid, more real. She could_ feel_ them. It took all her willpower and convincing herself that she was still Tessa, still a mutant, still at the Institute for the gifted.

But that wasn't the worst of it. It was when they _ended._ The memories had stopped for quite a few hours now, and when they did, she was allowed about twenty more minutes of sleep before she was rudely awakened by screaming.

When she first heard the screaming, she had frantically looked around. It sounded like it was coming from in her room.

It didn't take long to figure out it was coming from her head.

Yep. She sounded like someone just _waiting_ to be taken to looneyville.

For a few hours the screams had been coming on and off, and when they did, there was a cruel and cold voice whispering chaos into her ears.

Not to mention throughout all this she still had that killer headache.

The memories, the headaches, the screaming, the voices.. It was all slowly driving her insane.

What was happening to her?

/ / / / /

"So who's the new kid?" Logan's gruff voice resounded through the waiting silence. He leaned casually against one of the many walls of the Med Bay, arms crossed and scowl ever present. Like usual.

"Her name is Tessa," Xavier said, not looking up from the papers he was scanning. "..And that is about the extent of our knowledge about her."

Logan rolled his eyes. "I don't buy that crap for one second, Chuck."

Xavier looked up for a moment and nodded in understanding before returning to his papers. "If you wish to know more, you will have to ask her yourself."

Logan did a mixture of a sigh, grunt, and huff. He liked Xavier. Really, he did. But sometimes he wished he could just get a straight answer without having to go through hell and back to get it himself.

Logan pushed himself off of his perch on the wall and walked towards Xavier.

"What're you lookin' at?" He asked, moving to look over his shoulder at the papers in Xaviers hand. Like he really needed to ask. He was just going to read over his shoulder anyway.

Xavier didn't look up from his papers. "I am looking at her medical reports."

Logan's interest was sparked. "Why?"

Xavier handed a few papers he was done with to Logan. "Take a look at this."

The papers he was handed consisted mostly of pictures; pictures of Tessa when she was first brought to the Mansion. In the pictures before she was cleaned of the grime and blood, she looked unrecognizable for even a corpse. Ghashes, cuts, bruises, and scrapes covered her entirety.

"What the hell did those kid's do to her?" Logan asked.

Xavier didn't answer him. Instead, the sound of heels clicking on the subbasement floor brought up Logan's attention.

"I have those X-Rays you wanted," Storm's calm voice said from behind him.

She came around and handed a few papers to Xavier, who took them and started skimming them over. She nodded at Logan with a small smile of recognition before turning back to Xavier.

"So what is this all about?" She asked.

Xavier still didn't look up from his papers. "Peculiar behaviour," He answered. "That's what this is about."

Logan handed Storm the papers he had been looking at. Might at well share the wealth, right?

"Three day's ago, Tessa was brought to the Institute," He went over the facts. "Two day's ago she woke up."

Logan scowled, already finding a flaw. "You mean to tell me three day's ago, she looked like that," He gestured to the papers in Storm's hands. "And a day later, she's magically awake."

Xavier's face lightened up with some kind of amusement. "She's not just awake. She's wandering through the Mansion as we speak,"

Storm's brows furrowed in disagreement. She opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted.

"So she has healing powers."

Xavier's amusement was now long gone, replaced instead by seriousness. He looked back to his papers. "I don't think so. The scanners don't show any sign of healing DNA activity, and from the tests we've taken it is even proved she doesn't have the healing factor as you do. No. She was healed by something else. But I am unsure.."

If Logan was physically able to pout, that's probably what he would have been doing. Instead, he just looked irritated and grumpy. "Your unsure?" Translation: 'Your a telepath, and you don't know?'

Xavier seemed oblivious to his pouting. "I am."

Logan scowled. "Well I don't buy this."

Xavier nodded. "If you wish to know more, you will have to ask her yourself."

"Then I will. Where is she?"

Storm, now calm again, answered for Xavier. "That is what I was trying to tell you earlier. She is not wandering around the Mansion. She has been cooped up in her room ever since she woke up,"

Xaviers expression twisted into slight worry. He closed his eyes.

A few moments of silence passed. Logan and Storm exchanged cautious glances.

Finally, he opened his eyes. "She's in trouble."

Nothing more was said. Those were words they heard often, unfortunately.

Logan and Storm bolted out the Med Bay and headed to the elevator, leaving Xavier to watch after them with telepathic eyes.

Storm lead Logan through the various hallways to her bedroom, rushing in case there was eminent danger.

"Hey! Watch it!" Kitty barely had time to phase through Logan, avoiding a crash.

"Sorry, half-pint." Logan called over his shoulder, earning a huff from the nickname reciever.

If there wasn't the threat of probable danger, Logan would have smirked in amusement.

Logan unsheathed his claws and stopped in front of the girl's bedroom door, preparing to knock it down. He was quickly stopped by Storm. "Did you even check to see if it was unlocked?" She asked incredulously. Logan stepped back, - pleasantries of Storm gently pushing him aside - and ended up going in after Storm, who had casually opened the door. (By use of the doorknob.)

There, on the Xavier standard issue bed, was a teenage girl clutching her head and writhing around on the blankets. Storm rushed over to her and checked for any sign of injury or cause of the writhing, but found none.

_"Bring her to the Med Bay, quickly!"_ Xavier's frantic voice rang through both X-Men's heads.

Logan retracted his claws and picked up the writhing girl.

The two had little difficulty picking her up and taking her to the Med Bay. The problem was what happened with her reaction to touch.

All through the way of taking her to the subbasement, she was writhing worse than ever and screaming, which caused quite a few stares from passerby's.

"The hell?" Logan frowned.

When they finally got down to the Med Bay, Logan unceremoniously dropped her down onto an empty medical bed.

Xavier came rolling over and after only a half a seconds hesitation, put both hands on either side of her head, closing his eyes while in the process.

A few seconds of this treatment passed, and her screaming stopped; followed shortly by her writhing.

Several long minutes of deathly silence passed.

Logan looked to Storm for answers, but she simply returned his questioning gaze.

Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, Xavier opened his eyes.

"Is she gonna be alright?" Logan asked.

Xavier nodded. He looked... distant. "She will be alright." He said. But there's one thing that caught Logan's attention more than anything. He didn't make eye contact. Xavier always makes eye contact. It's like his non-telepathic way of reading people. But no. Xavier was staring at the ground, seemingly looking through it.

"I will be in my office, should you need me." He said. And with the he was gone.

Logan glanced at the girl, then at Storm, then scowled.

"There's something he's not telling us." He growled.

Storm nodded in obvious agreement.

"I know." She said calmly. She took a step towards the door, then stopped. She turned back to Logan a last time, a small smile on her lips.

"Do not worry. He will tell us with time.. He always does."


	11. Meeting

**Okay, so I know in X-Men: Evolution they referred to Alison as Amara, and it's really starting to bug me that I'm not doing that, but but but.. Gha. I like the name 'Alison Crestmere' better, and technically it's still her name so I'm qualified to call her that. Don't kill me over it. Please. Hey, I need a vote. (Even though like all of you don't even review in the first place. xD) Should "Pheonix" Come from the Shi'ar jewel, or be a monster created in the depths of Jean's mind? I need to know. Oh my GOSH I can't absorb all this information about Magik! (No, not witchcraft. Piotr's younger sister.) She's like way too complicated. Same with.. Well, pretty much freakin everyone! Oh gosh. *Heavy sigh* I have work to do. No, NO. Bad Tessa. BAD. We're not doing comics, we're doing X-Men: Evolution. Now if only I could convince myself to stick to that storyline, we'll be fine! Oh gosh, guy's. D: I really hope I didn't make my character seem like a Sue. Sigh. Shoot me now, right? Ugh. e.e Accents are so annoying. "Mah accent is a biyetch tah read." I'm totally kidding. I wouldn't spell bitch that way. eue**

* * *

><p>"You have done well, Zara," Erik chimed.<p>

Zara's face crinkled into that of confusion. "Done well? She has joined the X-Men."

Erik's lip's curled into a twisted smile. "Exactly."

Silence. Zara took that as her cue to wait for him to elaborate.

"She will come with time," He said, completely relaxed and in control of the situation.

A few moments of comfortable silence passed before Zara couldn't keep it in any longer. The thought had been running through her mind over and over, eating away at her curiosity.

"Why, exactly, do we need her?"

Erik nodded as if he had been expecting her to ask. "Her abilities will prove to be invaluable to me during this war."

Zara frowned. "What exactly _are_ her abilities?"

/ / / / /

"Woah!" Macklin shrieked, practically getting run over by the stampede of students rushing through the halls. She spun around and just about lost her balance when a pair of familiar hands caught her mid-fall.

"Sheesh! You'd think the kitchen would be in ruins by now, the way they all rush in there," Quinn chuckled.

A smile automatically made it's way onto Macklin's face at the sight of her friend. "Tell me about it. But if we don't get in there before Bobby does, there won't be any food _left_!"

"Agreed. Plus, I don't really feel like going through another Danger Room session with an empty stomach._ Again_."

The two hurriedly made their way into the kitchen, laughing lightly at the partial inside joke and friendly banter. Luckily, they made it to the kitchen before the cabinets were wiped clean and there was nothing left to eat but crumbs.

"So?" Tabby's voice meandered over to Macklin and Quinn, even though she was really talking to Jennifer. Alison's head perked up slightly - something not unnoticed by her companion, Jennifer - and you could tell she was trying not to look interested in Tabby's probable gossip. It's not that she was a real gossipy person, it's just that she couldn't help but listen.

"Did you hear about the new mutant?" Tabby asked.

Jennifer laughed. "Yeah, I heard her. All through the halls! That girl can scream."

Tabby snorted and nodded her agreement. "What a freak."

Macklin rolled her eyes. "Like your really one to talk. We're _all_ mutants here, you know,"

Tabby lifted her hands above her shoulders in defense. "Hey! I'm just sayin'. Not all of us go through the halls screaming like we're being murdered."

Jean, who had been buttering her toast, stopped. "I'm sure she had a good reason for it, Tabitha," She furrowed a brow condescendingly. "Besides. We've all been through some pretty tight spots where I'm sure _any_ of us would have screamed."

Macklin raised her eyebrows at Tabby in amusement. Sure, she wasn't exactly the best of friend's with Jean, but she wasn't enemies either. So watching her - being a slightly 'higher authority' - get at Tabby was her highlight of the day.

"What? Are you saying you know her?" Tabby accused. Great defense, Tabs.

Jean pursed her lips. "Kind of. What does it matter?"

Tabby opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted.

"Will you two shut your traps?" Logan, from across the island, said over his newspaper. He scowled and took a swig of his coffee, returning to his reading now that there was silence.

Macklin figured that was his way of telling them it was time to move their butts and get to the Danger Room.

As it turned out, Macklin and Quinn got to school a tad early, and spent the remaining time until first period wandering around the hallways.

They weren't really people for gossip, but the screaming from yesterday_ did_ bring up curiosity.

"Did you get a peak at her yet?" Macklin asked.

Quinn shook her head. "Not a glimpse."

Macklin laughed dryly and threw back her head. "Great. So we can't even be the official welcoming comittee. We don't know what she looks like."

Quinn shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh well. We'll see her eventually."

'Eventually' turned out being fifteen minutes. As the two were passing by the principal's office, they were just in time to hear the last words of a conversation.

"I'm sure you'll be a valuable asset to our school." The voice was presumably Ms. Darkholme herself. A few other words were given by her, then the door to her office opened and a girl in a white dress stepped out, holding a new school schedule.

"That's gotta be her," Quinn whispered to Macklin. The two stayed a safe distance away, probably about twelve feet.

"You think we should go ask?" Macklin whispered back.

Quinn shrugged.

They looked back at the girl who was still clutching her schedule, and were about to decide to approach her, when a certain red-head from across the hall brightened up in recognition and smiled.

"Hey!" She cried, waving and speed-walking towards the girl in white.

"Well, that concludes our suspicions." Quinn said.

The girl in white looked up from her schedule and locked eyes with Jean. She didn't say anything, she just patiently waited for her to come over.

Quinn and Macklin just simply watched the scene in front of them unfold.

Jean exchanged a few friendly words with the girl, - who's voice was too quiet to be heard - then showed her where her first class was. The girl nodded and walked towards Quinn and Macklin while Jean said her goodbye's.

The two friend's simply stared.

The girl wasn't really unique in any appearance. Her hair was dull and common, flat with bangs. She didn't really have any exceptionally beautiful features at all. If one were to describe her, it would probably be with the word, 'Bland'. If anything, she just looked fragile. Her skin was sickly pale, making the girl's inwardly cringe. Her skin was so white it made her look ill. You could easily see her veins through the almost transparent skin. She didn't have a big chest, big hips, nothing. She had the regular build of a skinny person, and kind of looked like she could snap in two easily.

Then the girl looked up from her schedule, and locked eyes with the girls for a moment in time. Her face was... Well, it was.. Cute. It wasn't beautiful or ravishing, it was just... Cute. Her face kind of looked like a porcelain doll. Er.. If dolls could look ill. Her eyelashes were especially long, and her eyes seemed huge compared to her thin face. Her nose looked like a four-year-old's, like her face hadn't aged at all over the years. How old _was_ she, anyway? She was probably only as tall as Kitty; which was pretty short. But not shorter than Jennifer.

Her eyes were a deep green, with an almost black forest green circle around the emerald. Besides that, there was really nothing special about her.

She didn't smile or show any sign of emotion as she passed. The moment she locked eyes with the girls, she looked down at her schedule in just the same few seconds.

Quinn and Macklin exchanged a look of their own before finally pretty much thinking, 'Whatever'.

"Well, what were we expecting, really? A supermodel?" Quinn rolled her eyes and shrugged.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful until lunch.

Jennifer stared at the ground, avoiding Rogue's eyes even though she clearly had approached her to talk. A few long minutes of silence passed before Rogue shook her head and rolled her eyes, pushing herself off of the tree she had been leaning on, arms still crossed, and started walking away.

"Rogue, wait," Jennifer protested, the first words she had spoken to her since she had joined the X-Men.

Rogue did.

"I.." What was she supposed to say? 'Oh! Hey, buddy! :D Guess what? I joined the people who attacked you. Isn't that great?'

Rogue turned around to glare at her kind of - at the moment - friend. "Ah don' wan t' hear it." He jutted a hip out to the side, arms still crossed, and narrowed her eyes. That was her, 'Ah'm pissed' look.

"Rogue, at least try to listen to reason," She tried. So, Rogue didn't say anything. She just listened.

A few seconds passed. Jennifer wasn't sure what to say.

"I think... you have the wrong idea about the X-Men. I think that maybe," She shrunk under Rogue's glare. "Maybe you got'em mixed up or something. I don't think that they-"

"Ah _know_ what Ah saw, Jen," Rogue interrupted. "Stop tryin'a convince meh othehwise."

Jennifer was silent.

Rogue looked to the side, head down, showing for the first time in awhile, a bit of hurt. "Ah jest... Ah feel like with you joinin' 'em, yur betrayin' meh somehow,"

Which, she kind of was.

Rogue shook her head again and turned away. "Ah jest don't know what t' think anymore."

She fully turned from Jennifer and walked away, leaving Jennifer feeling cold and lonely. She knew that Rogue had just ended their friendship. She tried very hard to fight it, but she just couldn't. A single tear slid down her cheek.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the outside food area..

"May I sit with you?"

Jean looked up, a bit surprised, at the voice; then politely smiled when she saw who it was. "Of course! Just make yourself comfy,"

So she did. Tessa looked around a bit after sitting down, eyeing the strange array of jocks and cheerleaders sitting at the table she was at. The blonde male who had been sitting by Jean wrapped an arm around her shoulders, chuckling absent-mindedly at some joke his friend's had made.

It wasn't that Tessa was best friend's with Jean, it's just that she didn't know anyone else.

"Hey babe, do you wanna hook up this wednesday?" The blonde with his arms around Jean asked. Jean looked apologetically at the blonde and said, "Sorry, I can't. I have a geology club excursion that I have to go to,"

The blonde huffed in disapproval at a 'geek' club appointment, but with a few apologetic words - and perhaps a bit of persuasion - eventually accepted the situation.

When Tessa was half-way done with her meal, and there was a brief moment for her to speak with Jean, she asked, "Why do you not sit with your friend's from the Mansion?"

Jean looked over at her, then glanced behind her head to look at the table the rest of the X-Men were sitting at a little far away from where they were. "Oh. Well, I guess I-"

"She likes her boyfriend _better_ than those geeks, that's why." The blonde interrupted, tightening his hold on her shoulders as if she were a prize. Jean looked annoyed when she muttered, "Yeah, sure Duncan."

Over at the other end of the courtyard..

"She sure likes hanging out with Jean, doesn't she?" Macklin asked.

Quinn 'Mhmm'd.

"Who does?" Kurt asked, looking in the direction Macklin was.

"The new girl. I thought you would have heard by now." Quinn answered.

Kitty laughed. "Yeah, like, literally."

Kurt examined the 'new girl' from his seat many yards away from the table she was at before doing a mixture of a pout and a scowl. "Weak, man! Jean got first dibs,"

Kitty looked apalled. "Eww! You weren't going to, like, flirt with her like you did when I first came, were you?"

Kurt opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted.

"Nahh. I wouldn't say flirt. He's more like the attention hog. Flirting is Bobby's department." Macklin said.

Quinn grinned and nodded in agreement.

Kurt just crossed his arms and pouted.

All the while, Scott just stared off in space at Jean's table.

Macklin grinned. "You should have heard Jean defend her this morning. It's like their best friend's or something,"

No one said anything further, though everyone except Scott had a slight smile on their face from that. It wasn't exactly uncommon knowledge that Jean wasn't the most 'popular' when it came to having 'girlfriend's'. At least not around the Mansion.

And all while this is happening, a girl named Amanda sit's on the other side of the courtyard, watching the boy named 'Kurt' dreamily; knowing nothing about what she will get into dare she try to start a relationship with him.

The rest of the school day was pretty boring, too. Well, except for gym. The X-Men in Tessa's class and every other occupant in it found out that she wasn't exactly the most 'athletic', nor exactly the 'Strongest', though her jumps were pretty high.

But, as said earlier, the rest of the day was pretty boring.

That is, until after school.

Quinn wasn't looking where she was going and accidentally bumped into Ms. Darkholme while walking down the hall.

"Eek! Sorry!" She cried. The principal just glared at her before stomping off. And then, the world went dark.

"What the heck! AAH!" She felt around with her arms stretched out, searching around.

"Oh my gosh!" She heard Macklin cry. Next thing she knew, she was being hauled off somewhere. Probably out of sight somewhere.

_"Destiny." She slurred. A woman with short brown hair and dark sunglasses turned to her general direction and smiled lightly. "Hello again," She cooed. The woman who's eyes Quinn was seeing out of smiled. "It's been awhile."_

_"So it has."_

_A comfortable silence passed before the woman - presumably Ms. Darkholme - sat down next to 'Destiny' and looked with a slight smile on her face at the woman. _

_"Far too long for my comforts," Ms. Darkholme said softly. She ran the back of her hand along Destiny's cheek gently, causing her to look at Ms. Darkholme. The lips of Destiny curved upward slightly. _

_After a short pause, Ms. Darkholme removed her hand from Destiny's face and removed the glasses from her eyes. Quinn felt some type of sadness at the sight before her, though she knew the feeling wasn't her own. _

_This woman, this Destiny, was blind. But Ms. Darkholme loved her anyway._

"Oy.." Quinn mumbled.

"Phew. Your back to normal," Macklin said. "That was a close call. Somebody could've seen you shapeshift."

Quinn looked around. She never felt more happy to be able to see than she had today.

"So? What'd you see in the memory?" Macklin asked curiously.

Quinn looked at her and made a face. "You _don't_ want to know."

Later, back at the Mansion..

Tessa was beginning to have a headache again. Honestly, she just wanted to go to her room and stay there. She didn't really feel like following Jean around or getting a grand tour or any of that.

"But come on! It'll be fun! And if you want, I'll even put on a little Danger Room session for you to see what it's like!" Jean had said. Tessa had just politely declined and said she needed to go to bed.

So, here she was, walking down the halls headed for her room.

Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to have her face in her hands in the meantime, though.

_"Oof!"_

Tessa fell straight backwards and landed on her backside. That was _not_ the cherry on top of a good day.

"Haha! Oops, sorry!"

Tessa looked up and saw a girl with short dark hair pulled in two small ponytails grin down at her. The girl had a purple tint in her hair, blue streaks, and more piercing's in her ears than Tessa had ever seen in her lifetime. (Though, that's not really saying much.) She had a perfect hourglass figure - even more perfect than Jean's - and was probably just a little shorter than Tessa herself. She wore a black top that criss-crossed around her chest to the back of her, and had fishnet lining pretty much every other part of her body. Tessa couldn't help notice how low-cut her top was. The girl wore a dark purple miniskirt and had on black combat boots. To top it off, she was complete with a nose piercing.

She held out a hand, and Tessa gratefully took it. "Sorry about that," She said, still grinning.

Tessa didn't let go of her hand when she stood up. She was too stunned and lost in amazement to get her thoughts to process properly.

She had been amazed with Jean's green eyes. But this was something totally different. This was complete and total astonishment.

This girl, believe it or not, had fiery magenta eyes that just lured in the soul and sucked you up like a vacuum.

Tessa's staring just made the girl grin wider.

"I'm Jennifer. But around here I'm usually known as Jynx," She said, shaking the hand Tessa had yet to let go of.

It took a few seconds, but Tessa finally snapped out of her daze.

"Oh.. I... I am Tessa." She said, finally letting go of her hand.

Jynx stuck a finger at her, grin ever present. "You must be the new girl everyone's heard all about. And I mean that quite literally. You scream quite well for such a thin little sprout,"

Tessa was stunned. "I.. Do not recall such events.." And she really didn't. But, even so, she could distinctly feel a blush rising up on her cheeks.

Jynx chuckled. "Sure you don't. So have you gone into the Danger Room yet? Craziest thing I've ever seen."

Tessa felt her headache make it's debut. "No, I.. I have been told about it, but I have not been in it,"

Was the room spinning? It kind of felt like it.

"Well, I could take you down there if y-" She stopped and raised an eyebrow before putting a hand to Tessa's forehead. "Hey. Are you okay? You look kinda ill. And I mean more ill than you were a few seconds ago,"

"Yes. I just.. need rest." And with that, she stumbled passed the girl named 'Jynx'.

Jynx looked after her oddly. "Uh.. Okay. Well, there's a Danger Room session tomorrow morning, 6:00 AM sharp! I'll see you there!"

Apparently she had just been unwillingly told to go.

She could _already_ hear herself getting kicked out.


	12. Should've gone to bed

***Happy dance*  
>Cough. Ignore the freak. eue<br>Explanations:  
>Well, after reading and re-reading Quinn and Macklin's bio's, I just thought they would really click together. And living in the same Mansion and being roommates, I'm sure they would have adapted to become friend's.<br>And Quinn did know what was going on. Of course she would know when her powers are activating, that would of course be natural. But the reason she was blind is because she shafeshifted into Destiny, who is blind. And blindness isn't a power or anything(Because she doesn't absorb powers, she shafeshifts.), it's an actual problem with the iris or other part of the eye. Therefore, when she transformed into Destiny, she had also turned blind.  
>And I still need more people to tell me whether or not 'Pheonix' should come from the Shi'ar jewel, or from a monster created in the depths of her mind from raw power.<br>Also as for the previous chapter, sorry for all the skipping, but I just wanted to get everyone in there.  
>SIGH. Drama drama drama, Sue sue sue, perfect perfect perfect. I feel I'm making Tessa a Sue. UGH. I do despise Sue's. What do I do to fix this? I can't strip her of her powers. UGH.<br>GASP! I JUST READ A STORY THAT...  
>OMGSH! I'M TOTALLY GONNA..! I WANT TO...! AAH! *Fansqueal* I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT A SELF-INSERT BEFORE! Well, I mean, I HAD, but I never thought of actually DOING it, cause like, no one else was doing it. OMFGSH. I. Am. So. Going. To. Do that. 8L<br>My gosh. o.o...  
>I have to tell Jamie! JAAMMMIIIE!<strong>

* * *

><p>Another day without sleep. The voices and the screaming had returned, leaving Tessa awake all night. When they finally stopped, it was twenty minutes until the Danger Room session; and she decided it would be better to just get ready than try and get a nap.<p>

But, though it wasn't in her plans, she fell asleep.

Thankfully she had set her alarm, so she woke up fifteen minutes later. (Much to her dismay. She was partly hoping to just never wake up.)

She dragged herself out of bed and fell outside her door, not even bothering to freshen up or anything of the such.

Being sleepy, distracted, just just opening the door, and falling out of it caused her not to see there was a person standing in her doorway.

Like was said earlier, she_ fell_ out of her doorway. Hence, the person_ in_ the doorway got a handful Tessa.

"Woah there! Morning sleepyhead,"

Tessa looked up. There was that girl with blue streaks. What was her name again? Janx? No, Jennifer. Right?

The... girl, looked at Tessa like she was an alien. "Woah.. Rough night?"

Tessa just nodded.

"Er.. Maybe you should go back to bed. I mean, no one's forcing you to go, you know? And it would be better if you were well up and rested.

Tessa forced herself straight and breathed slowly. "No. It is alright. I doubt I will get any more sleep tomorrow than I have today."

Jennifer (Or Janx. Whichever one it was.) shrugged it off. "Okay, whatever. Follow me."

It ended up Tessa didn't follow her. Instead, Jennifer practically carried Tessa to the Danger Room.

'Well, at least she's light.' She had thought.

After a few stares and snickers, they finally got to the giant room.

Jennifer shook the arm Tessa was heavily leaning on, which caused her to look up and mumble something incoherently.

When she saw the Danger Room, Tessa stood upright quicker than she could even take a step. She was definitely awake now.

The room she was in.. It looked almost exactly like..

_"Tessa." Mother scowled. Tessa cringed slightly, but looked up at her anyway. "Yes, Mother?"_

_Mother lifted her chin pridefully, hands clamped behind her back, black victorian dress ever present. "Come."_

_Mother lead her through the many different hallways in the underground house they lived at. _

_They didn't used to. Tessa remembered when she was younger, she would go outside and play. But she hadn't gone outside for about two years now._

_They used to live in a house full of windows and sunshine, where you could hear the birds singing and the people outside rushing about.._

_But something happened. Something was wrong with Mother. Even the six-year-old little girl could tell that._

_Two years ago was when it had started. She blocked out her windows, and then eventually moved her to a room without windows entirely. And then they moved here; a windowless, sunshine-less world full of darkness and cruelty. Tessa didn't even know where the door to 'outside' was._

_Mother stopped abruptly, in front of a door. She gestured to it stiffly, "Go inside."_

_So she did. She reached up, on her tippy-toes like she did in ballet, and opened the narrow door. _

_When she stepped inside, Mother closed the door behind them both, leaving the two to be devoured by the largeness of the room._

_It was ginormous!_

_But.. Why wasn't there anything in it?_

_It was a large circular room, tan and worn like the rest of the house, with six pull-up doors on different parts of the wall._

_Tessa turned back to Mother with an innocently confused expression. "Mother?" She queried._

_Mother, for the first time since that day in the Chapel, smiled. But it wasn't like the one on that day. There was something in her smile that scared Tessa; something that made her want to run away in fear._

_"This," Mother gestured with a thin arm and hand to the room. "Is where you will train." She said._

_Tessa felt something in her mind set off, like an alarm warning her of danger. Something was very wrong._

_"Train? Train for what?" She asked._

_Mother's cruel crystal eyes never left Tessa's green ones. "This is where you will train your abilities. **This,** is where you will train for **me**."_

_She didn't know any better at the time. "You want me to train my abilities? But.. Mam-.. Mother.. I thought you said they were bad," She took time to very carefully pronounce her words. Mother had earlier said that she needed to sound like an adult, and not pronouncing her words like one would prove to be very misfortunate for her. She knew what that meant. She would get a spanking. She had only gotten one once in her life, and a long time ago, but the memory was enough to get the point across._

_Mother glared at her. "No. The people who want to **use** it are bad. You will use your abilites in the future to protect me, when the time is right." She said._

_Tessa knew now that she had been lying. She never let Tessa go with her anywhere to protect her. She also knew now that **Mother** had been using her abilities. But somewhere, she didn't mind. She loved Mother. It was okay if she used her._

_Tessa was too fearful to leave Mother's eyes to take another glance at the big room. "How will I train? If I use my powers-"_

_"You will use them on these people." She gestured to the pull-up doors, which opened and revealed four scraggly-looking people in cages with crazy eyes and thin features, like they hadn't eaten in day's._

_The people looked around wildly before setting eyes on Tessa, then smiling wickedly as if she were a fresh pile of gourmet food._

_It took Tessa a few seconds to realize what Mother was actually saying. When she did figure it out, her eyes went as wide as dinner plates._

_"Mother.." She said frantically. "You.. You will not make me.." She couldn't finish her words. Even at a young age, she **knew** what death was. Oh, yes. She knew it well._

_Mother's malevolent smile returned. "No. I will not. But they will." Her eyes flicked to the cages before she__ turned and left the room, closing the door behind her. _

_Tessa was too scared to think properly enough to move._

_That is, until the cages opened with a sickening screech. She spun around, eyes still wide, and stared in horror at the people running like animals towards her. _

_Tessa spun around and ran to open the door, to find it was locked. _

_She screamed in terror, turning back to look at the people who would come and eat her like the cannibals they were._

_"Get away! Mama! HELP ME!" She screamed._

_Tears flew down her cheeks rapidly as she leaned against the wall with all her might, hoping it would break down that way. She continued screaming 'Mama' until her throat was raw, but Mother did not return. _

"Mama," Tessa whispered. The scene continued to play in her mind, blocking her vision to the real events of now. A tear escaped and slid down her face as she continued saying her name.

Jennifer looked over at Tessa, a bit scared. She had called her name many times, but the only response she got was 'Mama'.

They were the first ones to get to the Danger Room, so no one else was there to help. Jennifer had enough of this. She was going to go find help.

She spun quickly to go do so, when she saw Jean and Scott walking down the hall towards them, talking up a storm.

Oh, great. This must be Karma, right?

Jennifer hated Jean and her little 'perfect' life and her 'perfect' hair and her 'perfect' grades and her 'perfect' little golden-child privileges!

But one glance back at Tessa and she decided to just suck it up.

"Scott!" She cried. He tore his eyes away from Jean and smiled fondly when he saw Jennifer, then saw her terror-stricken face. His smile quickly vanished and both him and Jean ran over to her.

"What's wrong?" He asked, already getting ready to blow someone or something to pieces if need be.

"It's Tessa, the new girl. I don't know what's wrong! We just walked in and then she just.. froze! And now she's going on about something to do with her 'Mama',"

Jean was already on it. She had first thought of contacting the Professor, but then remembered that just the other day he was telling her about how they needed to prepare themselves for the future; and start trying to work out thing's on their own. Yes, he stressed that help was alot of the time needed, but he also said she was getting old enough to start making her own decisions. Of course, she had been making her own decisions for awhile now, but you get the point.

So after thinking it over for a nano-second, she decided to do thing's on her own. She closed her eyes and instinctively put her hands to her temples, focusing her power to see what was going on in Tessa's mind.

She shouldn't have done that.

Jean fell to her knees and cried out in pain, still holding her hands at her temples.

Scott was at her side faster than you can say 'Oops'.

"Jean!"

Jennifer was still looking at Tessa. She couldn't give a rats ass about whether Jean was in pain or not.

Jean struggled to remove herself from the wretched place of Tessa's mind, still crying out in pain.

A few seconds of this passed.

Jennifer heaved a heavy sigh and walked over to her, deciding that she was technically the only way to help the newcomer, so why not?

She simply poked her with a finger.

A wave of purple washed over her body. Jean cried out louder in pain, then fell over.

Honest to God, it took alot of willpower to keep Jennifer from laughing.

About four seconds passed and Jean finally stopped crying.

By then, pretty much everyone who was attending the Danger Room was there.

"Hey! Sorry I'm late! I had to-" Bobby screeched to a halt when he saw that everyone was crouded over in one spot. He didn't say anything further, hoping that would get him out of his tardiness.

"Where's Logan?" Alison asked frantically.

Scott was still hovered over Jean in worry. "He said he wasn't gonna be here today, something about searching for an old friend. I was supposed to be in charge today,"

Jean sat up silently, staring ahead at nothing at all.

"Jean?" Scott asked softly.

Jean's eyes became focused at her name and she looked at Scott, feeling reassured but scared and vulnerable at the same time.

"Are you okay?" He asked even softer, so only she could hear.

Jean glanced up at Tessa, then looked back at him.

"What happened?" He asked.

Jean stared at her lap. "I.. I can't explain it. It was like.." She took a moment to sort out her thoughts, then looked up at Scott again. "I don't know how else to explain it. It was like.." She trailed off. Scott just continued to listen.

"Looking into the face of death."

Scott glanced up at Tessa, mouth slightly agape. If you could see his eyes, they were probably widened. He looked back down at Jean.

"What do you mean?"

Jean crinkled her brows and looked up at Tessa, burning a hole into the side of her head. "I.. Her mind, it's like.."

She was interrupted (Though she probably wasn't going to continue her sentence anyway.) by Jennifer's clapping.

"Great show, loved the drama. Be sure to sell tickets next time," She said. She stepped over and grabbed Tessa by the shoulders, turning her away from the sight of the Danger room and instead looking back down the hall they had came from.

Tessa's eyes suddenly snapped back into focus and looked around, before they landed on Jennifer. She took a moment to recollect her thoughts, then realized what had happened. She gasped. How do you apologize for thing's like this?

Jennifer just lead her back to her room, grumbling all the way.

"I told you you should've gone to bed."


	13. Useless

**Yesterday yesterday was my birthday! Happy belated birthday to me. x3**  
><strong>Happy day-late Halloween, you guy's!<br>Sigh. Xavier is so ... So.. Peaceful. It annoys me. But it also makes me.. Happy? I don't know. **

* * *

><p>"It's alright," The professor said softly.<p>

Tessa continued to have her head bowed. There's no way she would be able to look at him right now.

"I'm not upset," He continued preaching more words of comfort.

Tessa sank into her chair a little more and silently wished his office wasn't so bright. Maybe if it were dark enough he wouldn't be able to see her, and she could just vanish away.

"You know, your not the only one in this school like you."

Tessa's eyes shot to the man in the corner. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, looking over Tessa almost... Pitifully. Who was he, again? Was Tessa even told his name? If memory serves, he's supposed to be a teacher.

The professor smiled at Tessa with a sadness behind it, and it made her wonder if he was talking about himself.

He gestured over in the corner to the man who was leaning there, and the muscular man stepped out of his hiding spot.

"Come on, kid. Take a walk with me," His gruff voice said.

So she did. She used all her strength to get her wobbly leg's moving and finally go after him.

He took her outside to walk around in the courtyard, where a few of the mutants were playing different kind's of sports. He stopped to watch them for a few minutes in silence, then lead her somewhere else, where not many people were around.

They continued to walk without a word spoken, and Tessa began to wonder if he really had just wanted to take a walk.

"You know, Kid," He began. She flinched at his voice, even though it was more gentle than anything. "Your not the only one who's killed people."

_Murderer._

"Plenty of people have, even though we're not exactly proud of it,"

_You **are** proud of it._

"And you don't have to be."

_You love to slaughter._

"Your not that person anymore,"

_You will always be a killer._

"It wasn't your fault,"

_It **was** your fault._

"You didn't have a choice."

_You always had the choice._

_And you chose correctly._

That all-too-familiar headache was coming back. Tessa's head was throbbing, and it was hard to listen to the man's words.

"Do you get what I'm trying to say? This place, they give people like us another chance." He gestured to the Mansion.

The world was spinning.

"I.. Understand.." She managed to say. Was she walking correctly? It didn't feel like it. It felt like some unknown force was trying to bring her to her knees.

The man looked at her worriedly. "Hey.. Are you alright? You don't look so good."

"I am fine." She stated, right before the world went black.

/ / / / /

"So what happened to your little buddy?" Alison asked.

Jennifer sighed and put her hands behind her head. "Who knows. She wasn't doing too good last time I saw her. Damn girl can't even stand on her own two feet for more than an hour! She's hopeless."

Along their trek through the Mansion Jennifer got the same question from various different people. After awhile the same question just got annoying, and Jennifer decided her and Alison were going to go outside for some fresh air.

"So much for fresh air.." Alison muttered. The skies were overcast and didn't look like they would clear until tomorrow.

"Why are people asking _me_? Just because I was there with her..-"

And then, lo and behold, there came another person asking about the new girl.

"Hey, Jennifer. How's the new mutant doing?" A girl with a black pixie cut and glasses asked.

Jennifer raised an eyebrow. Did she know her?

Eh. Probably not.

"Not good." She curtly replied. Telling the same answer over and over was getting old, and she would rather just get it over with.

The black-haired girl looked over at her companion, a thin pale girl with her black-streaked ash blonde hair tied up in a ponytail, who had black eyes. Or at least, they looked black. At a second glance.. Oh gosh! Were those her pupils?

"I see. We went to the med bay today to see how she was doing, but she wasn't there."

Jennifer tore her eyes from the girl with huge pupils and looked back at the pixie-cut girl. "What?" Jennifer asked. "Who do you mean she wasn't in the med bay?"

Pixie girl looked over at big-pupil girl and exchanged glances before returning their gazes to Jennifer. "You didn't know?"

Jennifer frowned. "No, of course not. From the looks of her she wasn't even supposed to be out of bed until tomorrow."

/ / / / /

Logan sighed as Xavier wheeled himself over to the unconscious girl yet again on a med bay table.

"I don't get it, Chuck," He said, rubbing his forehead with his hand. "You said this girl was powerful._ This_ is supposed to be the key to the Sentinel problem?" He gestured to the girl.

Xavier steepled his hands and leaned his head against them. "She is," He said, after a moment of silence. "Though she is not as she appeared in my insight of the future.. She is.." He tried to find the words. In all blatancy, she was nothing like what he saw in his vision. The female he saw in his vision was stronger, older, and had more control over her powers. But this girl was definitely her. Just how far into the future had he seen?

"Weak? Useless?" Logan dropped. Yes. He felt bad that she was used, he knew no child deserved to go through that, but there was just some part of him.. There was something telling him there was more to the puzzle. Throwing insults and being cautious was just part of the way he dealt with it.

"No. Her body is fragile and not yet used to the world.. Perhaps this is why she may seem to be 'weak' and 'useless'; but I assure you she isn't. No one is useless."

Logan sighed again. "I know." He said softly.

He didn't need to say that, though. Xavier already knew what he felt. Of course, that didn't give someone a reason not to be human.

"Give her time to get used to the world. She will recover with time."

/ / / / /

_She_ was supposed to be the key to the war? She was so weak. How could that young girl possibly hold any role in this world?

"No matter. She will be useful yet. She will be useful even if I have to kill her."


	14. To do their bidding

**Look. I KNOW this question is going to come up sooner or later, so I would rather it be answered right now; before all the big story plots and such come in. NO. I'm NOT pairing up my OC with any canon character. So just sit back, relax, and take it easy. Sheesh!  
>Also: No. Don't get ANY ideas, hot shots. Lancitty is in here for a short while because it was <em>ACTUALLY in<em> the series. **

* * *

><p>"Are you sure your well enough to go to school?" Jean asked.<p>

Tessa nodded curtly. She wasn't used to all the attention, honestly. Back at home she never got headaches or any of this other stuff that had been going on lately, so when the friendly people of the Institute started asking if she was okay, she felt a little.. crowded.

But then there was a part of her that liked the attention, a part of her that liked to be around such upbeat people. There was a part of her that craved for human affection after all the years of never having it.

Tessa's stare wandered from Jean, to the girl named Jennifer, to the one with big pupils, to the one with raven hair and an accent, then to the one with chocolate skin. The lovely woman called Storm had left with the black-haired girl to go get something for school.

She had been told all their names, but there were just so many! How could she remember all of them?

"I am.. Sorry," She started apologetically, "I seem to have forgotten your names."

The chocolate-skinned boy patted her arm. "No problem. I'm Evan," He then gestured to the pale raven-haired boy, "That's Kurt," Then he pointed to the one with large pupils. "And that's Macklin." He didn't remove his hand from her arm as he gestured, and it made Tessa self-conscious. To be quite frank, that was the most anyone had touched her in twelve years, besides fighting; and it made her want to squirm and run away. But then, all at once, it made her never want him to remove his hand.

She didn't miss the stale grin Jennifer had as she, too, saw this.

Sure, it was a friendly gesture, but for those feeling affected by it, it made tensions rise.

And then, his hand was gone. No, not as in vanished. Gone as in, he removed it.

"I'm sure you already know Jennifer and Jean," He said, flashing a lop-sided grin to the violet-eyed wonder. She returned it with a small smile of her own. The hinting went unnoticed by everyone except Jean and Tessa, but the new mutant didn't think anything of it.

The door to the med bay opened, and a brown-haired male with red sunglasses on poked his head in. "Hey, we're leaving. You guy's coming?"

Evan was the first one to respond. "Yeah, man. Just give us a sec, alright?"

The boy with sunglasses nodded and left the rest of them.

"I guess I better go make sure he doesn't leave without us." Jean said, a smile on her lips. With a wave, she was out the door to join him. (Whoever 'him' was.)

Evan looked back at Tessa. "So you sure your feeling up to today?" He asked. Tessa nodded again.

He shrugged and clapped her on the shoulder, grin evident. "Okay, then. Your choice. To be honest I'd take all the sick day's I could get, but whatever."

Jennifer did a mixture of a laugh and a scoff, arms crossed. "Here, here."

The raven-haired boy - Er, Kurt - gave Tessa a curious glance. "Ah you riding vith us?"

Tessa looked at him blankly for a few moments before what he said actually clicked. She blinked, surprised, and locked eyes with him. "I am allowed?" She asked.

Him and Evan exchanged amused glances. "Vell, yeah."

Tessa felt some unknown source of happiness and excitement fire in her, and she smiled. "I would love to!"

Her smile was wiped clean away when Kurt grinned. Instead, the happy expression was replaced by queasiness and confusion. Her stomach did a flip and it felt like there was something in the bottom of it leaping around. Her heart sped up and beat erratically, her cheeks went hot, and she felt something very close to excitement.

Her hands made they're way up to her face to feel it's heat, and she stared at Jennifer for an explanation. "What is this?" She questioned.

Jennifer's grin was wider than any other grin Tessa had ever seen before, and she could've sworn she heard her stifle laughter.

Tessa turned to Kurt and only got the same response. So, in a last attempt at explanation, she turned to Evan. He was shaking his head at Kurt knowingly, with a smirk on his face.

"Come on man, let's go." Evan practically dragged Kurt out the door.

Hands still on her face, Tessa again turned to Jennifer. It took a few moments, but she finally realized what their laughing might have been about. She removed her hands from her face and looked, upset, at Jennifer. "You knew what all those weird thing's were about, didn't you?" She accused.

Jennifer shrugged and put her hands on either side of her head in defense. "I don't know what your talking about," She said. Jennifer stole a glance at the door. "But if we don't hurry, Scott will leave without us."

Tessa sighed. "Alright."

/ / / / /

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Tessa didn't really learn anything in her classes; it seemed like she already knew everything they were telling her. But she thought it was normal. They were probably reviewing, anyway, right?

Jean had told her she wouldn't be there tomorrow because she was going on a geology club excursion. Tessa simply acknowledged the fact and decided to prepare for it.

But how, you ask?

"Are you going to take another shot at the danger room tomorrow?" Macklin asked.

Yes. She was preparing by spending time with people she didn't know.

Well, let's look at it realistically; through the mind of Tessa.

Tomorrow Jean wouldn't be there, and she would have no one to be around with. So, she was finding someone else to know, so she would 'hang out' with them for the time. She was afraid to go back into her room again alone, for fear she might have another breakdown. There was something about Xavier's school that made her mind go haywire.

She just didn't know what.

"Hello?" Macklin waved a webbed hand in front of Tessa's face.

She snapped to attention and looked at the gilled inquisitor. "I... Yes, I will be there. I am sorry for my behaviour; I was thinking of other thing's. I will be more attentive in the future."

She was getting too used to slacking off. At home, Mother would have punished her for being so unattentive.

"Hey! Don't worry about it so much. We're all space-cases sometimes," Quinn interjected.

Tessa stared at her blankly. "Space case? I do not understand."

It was now Quinn's turn to stare blankly. "You what?"

"Don't tell me you've never heard that saying before?" Macklin said.

Tessa's gaze went back and forth from the two on her sides. "I... I do not recall.." She racked her brain to try and understand the 'saying', or find where she had heard of it, but found none. She bowed her head. "I am sorry. I have failed you. I do not understand your speech."

Quinn stopped walking and took Tessa by the shoulders. "Hey, honestly. You don't have to apologize so much," She looked incredulously at Tessa. "It's fine, alright? Don't sweat it. Really." If that was annoyance in her voice, Tessa couldn't tell.

Under any other circumstances, Quinn would have laughed at how seriously Tessa was taking such a thoughtless comment. But she had heard... Thing's.. at the Mansion about how fragile this Tessa person was. In all honestly, it was kind of unnerving and awkward. Who wants to be super self-conscious just for the comfort of someone? But the good in Quinn won over, and she felt the desire to be friend's with the broken little girl. (Not to mention the 'thing's' probably weren't all THAT bad. Right? Well, because, it WAS just Tabby's gossip. ...Right?)

"I..." Tessa stopped herself from apologizing again. "Alright."

The rest of the way to the Mansion was uneventful. It was mostly traveled in awkward silence and thoughts unheard.

"So what's the deal with you and Lance, Kitty?" Tabby elbowed the small teen suggestively.

Kitty rolled her eyes and shrugged. "We're dating. So what? It's not like it's a big deal."

"But I thought that was a no-no for you guy's here with the big bad X-Men. I mean, dating the enemy? That's something serious, Kitty."

Kitty just rolled her eyes again and then decidedly ignored the blonde, phasing through a wall to leave her behind.

"You know, sometimes I wonder if she even has a brain." Macklin huffed.

Tessa tilted her head in thought at Macklin, then glanced at the blonde. "Well... I would of course assume that she does. If she did not, she would not be able to function, correct?"

Macklin gave her the dirt eye. (Even though it was mostly playful.)

Quinn clapped Tessa on the back. "It's more slang. Uh.. Kind of. Don't worry about it."

Tessa blinked. "Alright."

Later, sometime outside..

Tessa watched, amazed, as Jean's face morphed into that of a scowl. She didn't know a face like that could slide onto one who is usually so calm.

"I think maybe we should go somewhere else." Jean muttered.

Tessa looked at her point of view, and saw a little bit away, Jennifer and Scott. Jennifer was starting a conversation, and Scott was carrying it on with a slight smirk on his face. (Tessa had later learned his name; After a bit of memorization of course. She was terrible with names.)

Tessa looked back at Jean innocently. She didn't know much about intimate relationships, or even much about regular relationships, but there was something in the way her face looked upset that made her think up that the reason of her upsetting was the interaction of Jennifer and Scott.

"He is your mate, is he not?" She asked.

Jean's head snapped to Tessa and she looked unbelievingly at the younger girl. "He.. He's my what?" She shrieked. "Wh- No! Of course not! I mean... Just.. No! What are you-? No!"

Tessa looked on at her in confusion. "I am sorry. I merely had a speculation that the reason you were upset was because of Jennifer and Scott's interaction with each other."

Jean's expression turned from that of frustration and maybe a hint of embarrassment to that of exasperation and slight amusement. "No, I just.. Jennifer bring's out the worst in me. That's all."

Tessa got the feeling she shouldn't ask. (Gasp. She's growing people skills?) So instead, she said, "Alright."

/ / / / /

"Professor..?" Tessa's soft voice asked through the doorway. Xavier looked up from a few stray papers on his desk and smiled at the girl. "Come in, young one."

She did as told.

"What did you need?" He asked.

She forced herself to meet his eyes; to stand up straighter. "I have decided to join you."

/ / / / /

"I will have her in our use.. I will use her if it kills her. For in her, all thing's die. She could very well be the end of My Lord... but I will never let the threat go that far." He whispered ravenously to no one. "Instead, I will make her a pawn of My Lord; a service to him.. Yes.. I will see to it that her end does come."

/ / / / /

Mother drew her lips back in a malevolent snarl; though somewhat similiar to a grin.

"I knew she would escape, someday," She growled. "Now... For her to do my bidding."


	15. Reaper

**Alright. I bet I'm totally predictable with what my OC's mutation is, but I'm still gonna write it out anyway. Are you guy's as disgusted with myself as I am? :|**  
><strong>Now. I still need more votes. Phoenix comes from Jean's mind, or the Shi'ar Jewel?<br>Ah, yes. To: Macklin's owner:  
>You said 'small', but <strong>**I didn't see the extent of the power of her electrical charge, so I'm going to make the extent myself. That is all. Thank you. (Notify me if you want it otherwise.)  
>Sorry for not updating in awhile. I had a hard time thinking of how to write this one out.<br>Oh, yes. And for anyone wondering, yes. I know the 'New Mutants' didn't come in until season two. But, I wanted them there. This IS Fanfiction, after all.. :P  
>CanidSerpent: Thank you so much! You don't know what it means to have you reviewing. You really don't. It means alot. Thank you.<br>Lmao. I suck at writing battle scenes. So ignore the shortness and horribleness of them. XD  
>Warning. Major drama drama in this episode. =.=<br>But through the drama, alot of questions will be answered. (But not all. And how many are truth? I may lie to you. I do that, you know. But I do, however, promise that all answers will be given in the end.)  
>Geez. This is the longest chapter I've written for this thing. Pert'nere 6,000 something-or-other! I really shouldn't write at 1 in the morning. xD;<strong>

* * *

><p>Macklin quickly rolled to the side to dodge an incoming blow from a masked mutant-exterminator.<p>

"Why?" She shrieked at Quinn, who was slowly being surrounded by enemies. "Why did we get _this_ job while Scott, Kurt, and Jean get the easy part? We could've rescued Storm just as well!"

She barely ducked in time to miss a swing from her ever-diligent combatant. Macklin narrowed her eyes at the masked figure and growled, fed up with the persistence of it. "_Ça y est!_" She practically threw off her left glove and made a fist, slamming her electrical charge into the cold, hard mask of the simulated enemy. Had the person been real, the charge would have clawed it's way into the brain of the sentient and knocked them dead with impact. However, the simuluation was meant to be realistic; so the robot did indeed fall 'dead'.

Macklin turned to go help Quinn, when she was distracted by a blot of white in the corner of her vision. She looked to see what it was, and lo and behold, there stood one of the new mutants. That skittish 'Tessa' fellow. Why does she always wear that dress? She really needs to change clothes.

"I don't think I've seen her wear anything besides that," Macklin muttered.

But her non-clothing-change wasn't what caught her attention. It was the fact she was just standing there. Doing nothing. Helping no one. There weren't even any enemies going after her! Sure, Macklin was an extreme optimist; but that was at least a _little_ annoying.

She decided to ignore her and went to help Quinn. Why no one was attacking her and why she wasn't doing anything she would have to find out later. Right now, duty called.

Almost the exact moment Quinn took down an enemy, Macklin came; and they were back-to-back in battle stances.

"I hate that I can't use my powers on these stupid robots!" Quinn frowned.

Macklin's optimism was put on a hold as she couldn't help but feel the same way. "I know what you mean," She sighed.

They were about to get ready to kick some tin butt, when the simulation abruptly stopped. The girls both frowned and positioned themselves more comfortably, knowing they didn't need to use caution when in the doors of the Mansion.

"Uhh.. What the-..?" Quinn was interrupted by Professor Xavier's voice.

"Scott," He reprimanded, his voice full of condescension. "You know not to stop a Danger Room session unless it's an emergency."

Now that the building's were gone, everyone could clearly see the laser-eyed boy. "I'm sorry Professor, it's just.." He broke off, as if trying to word his sentence carefully. "How can you expect us to try and get Rogue on our side, if we're battling her in our DR sessions?"

The two ignored the rest of the conversation. "Rogue? Rogue was in the session?" Macklin murmured. Quinn shrugged, just as lost as she was.

The trip to school was full of silence and tension.

/ / / / /

"You want me to... What?" Zara asked incredulously.

Erik had his back faced to her, so she didn't see his amused smirk. It wasn't very often you got such a reaction from someone like Zara.

"Simply go out and cause some strife. Nothing too extravagant, just go out and destroy a few building's." He said casually.

Zara set her lips in a thin line. "But.. Why?"

Erik's smirk had by now turned into a full-fledged grin. "Too often you question my orders, Zara. It tires me," He paused, waiting for her reaction.

Zara thought he was mad at her, and was about to go complete his orders, when he spoke up again. "But I will humor you. You are not doing this for anything other than a simple distraction. It is to get the attention of the X-Men. Usually I would have Pyro do this, but he is far too reckless to stop once he get's going. That's why I trust you to do this."

Trust? Zara? Trust. He trusted her. Zara was somewhere between trying to stop her speeding heart and being honored.

She still didn't understand his reasoning, but she decided to just trust him; like he trusted her. Everything in his eyes was for a greater purpose, and only time alone would reveal what his vision saw.

/ / / / /

"Are you alright?" Tessa asked. Jean looked up from her hands, seemingly startled that another person was there, and upon seeing the bland girl, forced a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Oh. Yeah, I'm fine. I just..." She trailed off, looking again at her hands.

Tessa sat down next to the red-haired girl and dipped her head to look her in the eyes. "It is just what?" She asked. Jean hesitated, searching Tessa's expression as if it would tell her whether or not she could say 'why'.

"You were supposed to go to the Geek Excursion, were you not?"

Jean's head snapped up and she looked at Tessa disbelievingly. "I.. No! No, I was _supposed_ to go to the Geology Club excursion," She scowled.

Tessa was confused by what she did wrong. "Geology Club? But your blonde boy calls it a-"

Jean waved her off, now understanding. "Yeah," She sighed. "I know. Duncan's just like that, though." She paused in thought, then gave Tessa a weird look. "Erh... Don't.. Learn your manners from Duncan, alright?"

Tessa blinked, not quite understanding, but nodded anyway.

Jean sighed and leaned back on the makeshift cement seat outside the school. "I got replaced." She stated blankly.

Tessa frowned in concern for her growing friend. "Replaced?"

Jean nodded. "Yeah.. By Rogue." She lowered her voice on the last part and looked on the verge of gimacing.

Tessa didn't get why this was a bad thing. Ever the tactician, she aired her feeling's on it. "That is good. That gives the boy with the glasses a chance at getting her to join our side." (Wow! You can really tell how much she's been trying to adapt to using American speech..)

It took Jean a second to figure out who she was talking about. When she did, she crinkled her brows in confusion and curiosity. "Scott?" She asked.

Tessa bobbed her head excitedly. "Yes! That is the one. Scott. He went as well, correct?"

Jean nodded softly and seemed to be thinking over what Tessa was saying. "I guess I hadn't thought of it like that. I mean, I was just so put down that I couldn't go, that I guess I just lost my head, there."

Tessa opened her mouth to speak, when the sound of someone else's voice in their mind's made them snap to attention.

Okay, well, one of them; at least.

_X-Men! Your needed downtown!_ The Professor.

Tessa jumped maybe three feet into the air from her seat next to Jean, and frantically looked around. "Wh-..? What was that?" She squeaked.

Jean stood up, cautious curiosity on her face. "The Professor. It looks like we're going to have to cut school a little short today."

_Sometime later, seemingly 'Downtown'..._

"The heck?" Evan gawked, watching as a nearly translucent monster tore down building's at an alarming rate. Jennifer was right next to him, gawking as well. "How the heck are we supposed to stop _that?_" She shrieked. Evan frowned and threw his right arm in front of him, then lashed it outward, bony spikes crashing towards the monster as he did so.

It went right through it, breaking it's arm apart and making the entire being sway unevenly before almost painfully forming back together. It didn't stop to look at the nuisance. It didn't even waver from it's job. It just kept on mashing itself into those building's.

Kurt, somewhere to the side of them, looked unbelievingly at the monster. "Forget how ve stop it," He cried. "Vhat _is_ it?"

A blot of red moving to the side of them caught the attention of the three teens. "What_ is_ that?" A peacefully floating Jean asked, unbelievingly.

Kurt gestured antically and nodded furiously. "Zhat's vhat_ I _was saying!"

Somewhere to the side of Jean, a still white dress clad Tessa formed from behind the distracted X-Men.

Evan heaved a loud, heavy groan. "Who cares!" And with that, he was off running towards the entity. Jennifer frowned and ran off after him. "Like hell I'm gonna let you take on this thing alone, Porcupine!" He waved her off over his shoulder visciously, an obvious sign he didn't like the nickname. Jennifer smirked in triumph.

"Guy's, wait! We need to work together!" Jean called, flying after them. And that's literation, by the way.

_Bamf! _

Kurt was gone.

Tessa just sat back and watched them fight, much like she did earlier in the Danger Room. It was partly because she didn't know what to do, but then it was partly because she didn't think it was her place. Then there was another part of her that felt if she did something, she would only make matters worse.

It was like watching a horrible action film. People were running everywhere frantically, a giant monster was attacking, there was bricks and sulfer spreading all over the place, and then there were heroes trying to stop the threat.

If only Tessa had stayed to watch the rest of that movie with Kurt and Alison...

Time and time again, all four were beaten back. It took maybe twenty minutes until the four were offically aware their efforts weren't doing anything, and fell back.

Evan put his hands on his knees and panted, sweat droplets running down his face every now and then, and looked at Tessa in angry disblelief. "Can't you_ do_ something?" He asked.

Tessa stared at him blankly for a few seconds, then looked at the Monster, then Jean, then back to him. "I was not aware you wanted my aid." She said simply.

Everyone did their own versions of exasperation.

Tessa turned to look fully at the Monster, then tilted her head in thought. A few moments passed, and she looked up to Jean expectantly. "I have a plan."

/ / / / /

"Sabretooth." Logan snarled the name like it was a foul taste on his lips.

"Wolverine." Creed spat the name out with equal disgust.

"Logan," Storm began, in hopes to make sure a war didn't break out.

"Donkey?" Quinn threw out. Macklin and Kitty, next to her, started cracking up; despite the tense situation. Storm threw them a condescending glance.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Logan growled. It was doubted he even heard the girl's behind him.

"For you, of course," Creed grinned maliciously.

There were no more words. The two simultaneously lunged themselves at each other, claws at the ready.

Storm's eyes were already on the verge of boundless white, arms spread out and focused stare evident. "Get to the original destination!" She ordered, rising up into the endless sky by aid of the wind. The three teens nodded and broke out into a run towards the sound of crashing building's, when a rush of wind flew by them and a seemingly invisible forced knocked them back.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," An all-too-familiar cocky voice said.

The three looked up, and lo and behold, there was Pietro Maximoff in the flesh.

Macklin grinned and punched a fist into an open hand. "Oh, good. I've been wanting to beat the living crap out of you."

Pietro gave a wry smirk and narrowed his eyes. "Gotta catch me first, fish-girl."

None too soon had she taken only one step when he flew past her and began racing circles around the three. A vortex of wind surrounded them and knocked them off their feet, spinning them around slightly. It ended almost as soon as it came, and Pietro ended up on the opposite side he was before, hands on his hips and grin on his face. "What? Too slow?"

The same thing when on for about twenty more minutes, and by the time he was done with them, all three were tired out.

He tsked and shook his head. "You disappoint me, X-Men! I would have thought you better than that. Guess not! Well, time's up and," He winked at Macklin. "I gotta run."

Macklin took a step toward where he had last been and shook a fist at the air. "That.. That... Pompous.. Jerk!" Then went a few steps away and muttered something angrily that didn't sound like english.

"Doesn't it, like, bother anyone else that he just like, up and left us?" Kitty asked, slightly out of breath.

Quinn sighed heavily and put her hands on her knees. "Nah. That's just Pietro. When he get's tired of playing with his new toy, he throws it away and leaves the mess for someone else to clean up."

Kitty set her lips into a curious line. "Okay, well... What about that?" She pointed to the large retreating figure of Sabretooth, some few yards away from them.

Curiosity. Sparked.

Storm and Logan eventually came back up to them, and when they did, they didn't look too happy.

Logan shook his head angrily. "I think we've been played for fools." He growled.

All three teens looked at him, confused. "What do you mean?" Kitty asked.

Storm came to saddle up beside him and frowned in concern. "What he means," She started. "Is that this was just a distraction."

/ / / / /

"Guess this means we're suddenly out of the loop," Evan muttered.

Jean and Tessa were huddled together, discussing battles plans.

Jennifer groaned. "At this point, I don't think there_ is_ a loop."

Jean nodded, and Tessa looked back to the Monster, determined expression on her face. She didn't move for a good two seconds; she just stood there, staring at the beast. And then, right out of the blue, she broke into a rapid sprint towards the translucent entity. Jean was right behind her, hovering about three feet over the white clad girl. They were dangerously close to the beast, when Tessa threw her arms up and did a whole-hearted jump towards the thing. Jean quickly grabbed her arms and - with much strain - picked her up off the ground briefly then threw her towards the monster.

Tessa delved right into it. Jean flew away a few feet and watched in caution as the plan formerly worked up began to roll into motion.

The moment Tessa was in the middle of the thing, her arms spread out widely on both side of her, and if you looked close enough, you could see her fingers flex. All in one moment, her hands slowly began to curve into a fist, and while doing so, the translucent monster began to waver. It shook and trembled, and then.. It evaporated. But it wasn't like the evaporation you see when you cook water in a pot. It was as if it has been drained of it's very existence.

Tessa fell to the ground unceremoniously and dropped hard on her feet. In the same moment, a loud scream rang through the now silent area.

Evan, Kurt, and Jennifer ran towards her, ignoring the scream. They were, after all, only teenagers.

"Dude!" Evan cried, a grin on his face. "That was so cool!"

Tessa offered him a strained smile. "It would not be 'So cool' if you were on my side of the end, Evan."

"Guy's, I hate to break the reunion, but am I the only one who heard the scream just now?" Jean frowned.

Kurt shrugged. "I zhought it was just the monster giving a last dying scream." He said.

Tessa frowned. That couldn't have been it. She should know; she was in it when it 'died'.

"The hell did you do?" A familiar gruff voice roared somewhere behind the teens. All turned to look, and coming towards them was indeed, Wolverine. Alongside him were Storm, Kitty, Quinn, and Macklin.

"I.. Destroyed it." Tessa said.

Logan came to stop beside them and frowned deeply. "Then I commend you for it, Kid."

Tessa looked as if his words were painful. "Do not. You are... You _all_ are.. Unaware." Confused and curious looks were shared between everyone around. She searched for the words to explain. "..Of what it feels like," She tried. "The entity.. I believe it was alive. Or maybe, perhaps, it was connected to something alive." She searched for more words.

"Okay? What does that have to do with anything?" Evan asked, while Jennifer at the same time asked, "How does this make us unaware?"

Tessa set her lips into a grim line. "I.. _Felt_ it die."

Kitty frowned anxiously. "Okay, I don't understand. Like, what did you even do?"

Tessa sighed. "There will be a time for answers later," She said. "Right now we must flee."

And she was right. Almost exactly after she said those words, sirens could be heard from all over.

Jennifer frowned. "Fine. But your _going_ to explain."

/ / / / /

Zara screamed in pain. As she did so, thing's began to fall into place. She knew it had to have been Tessa who attacked her beautiful creature. It had to have been.

But that was exactly what he had wanted. Wasn't it?

Everything made sense now. Yes, it was to catch the attention of the X-Men. But now she knew why.

/ / / / /

"Alright. Answers." Logan said, arms crossed. Everyone sat down in a chair, and ended up in a large circle.

"We stick to the battle plan Chuck made for us," Logan ordered, eyeing down all the students.

"Right. 'Battle plan'," Jennifer sighed. "I'll go first." She stood up and placed a hand on her hip. "My name is Jennifer, and I-"

"Full name, Short stuff."

She heaved another sigh. "My name is Jennifer Sean Long, and I'm a mutant. Like you didn't know, but whatever. We're being forced to do this."

A growl was heard from Logan. She only smirked.

"I'm American, my codename is Jynx, and I have the power to, - of course, - Jynx thing's. In other words, I'm the epitome of malfunction. The bad part is this happens on contact, and it works on humans as well as machines. The good news is it doesn't last for very long. But that won't stop someone from tripping and getting a concussion, will it? I'm seventeen and from San Antonio Texas. We haven't found the true extent of my powers yet." She looked over at Logan for an affirmation that was all he needed, and he nodded. She sat down, and Alison stood up.

"Hi. I'm Alison Crestmere. My real name is Amara Julianna Olivians Aquilla, but I usually just go by Alison. I'm... Well, I guess you could say I'm Roman."

Bobby snickered. "Do like the Romans do, eh, Jules?"

She gave him an eyeroll. "My codename is Magma, and I have geothermal powers. Basically, I can control earth. We haven't found the true extent of my powers yet."

It was now Jubilee's turn. "My name is Jubilation Lee, but you can call me Jubilee. I'm Chinese American and from Beverly Hills California. I can generate bright bursts of multi-colored energy plasmoids from my fingertips. I like to call them fireworks."

Macklin's turn. "My name's Macklin Jeanne Green. I'm.. American. I can turn into a shark hybrid, or a full-fledged shark. When I'm in my full shark form, I'm a ten-foot-long longfin mako shark that's over 600 lbs. I'd appreciate you don't make weight jokes." She smirked. "I can pick up electrical charges under water, and this," She gestured to the glove on her left hand. "This here is what keeps you all from getting a zap from the current that runs up my arm." She frowned. "Bad news is the water I'm in has to be salt water, and it has to be colder than 60 degrees." She turned a mindful glance to Jean. "When I'm in my shark form, I can't talk to a telepath because of natural mental barriers my mind sets up." She looked around at the people in the room, dead serious. "If I smell blood in the water, my mind will immediately become primitive, and I'll instictively attack the person or animal, whether it be friend or foe. So just... be careful, alright?"

Quinn was next. She hesitated, and looked up to Logan as if to ask if she could skip. He shook his head. "My name is Quinn Delmond," She began softly, as if her words would hurt her. "I'm American and my codename is Reminisce. I have the ability to... Well, I have.. A form of telepathic shapeshifting." And then she sat down. Logan didn't press her further to explain the extent of her powers.

Kitty's turn. "Hi! I'm Katherine Anne Pryde, but, like, please don't call me Katherine. If you do, I'll like, phase you into a wall and leave you there. Call me Kitty. I'm from Chicago, and I'm Jewish. I have the power to phase through stuff. Like, I can go through thing's."

Maybe a half an hour passed, and everyone had explained their 'Battle plan'. And you know who was last on the list? Guess.

Tessa nervously stood up, scared of what everyone's feeling's might be. She opened her mouth to speak, and was interrupted.

"Logan!" Storm cried from the doorway. "We need to get to the X-Jet. Now!"

Logan was already at the door next to her. It wasn't everyday little Munroe was so frantic.

"We'll finish this later," Logan said over his shoulder.

No one moved from their seats as the two teacher's left. From the hallway there could be heard muttering's of 'Scott' and 'Rogue' and 'Mystique', and something about snow.

Silence.

All eyes were on Tessa.

"Well?" Jennifer said after a few minutes. "It's your turn," She said casually, as if the Storm/Logan fiasco hadn't just happened.

Tessa's heart stopped. Truly, it must have.

"My.. My name is Tessa." She stated. A few seconds passed.

"Full name, Short stuff." Jennifer smirked.

Tessa just stood there, awkwardly.

"I... I do not know my last name."

Whhhaaat?

Jaws dropped and snickers cascaded across the room. (Mostly emanating from Bobby's side, but you get the point.)

Tessa just stood there, unphased. She had never felt embarrassment before, so if she was feeling it now, she could not tell.

"I am... Human, I suppose." She said, after thinking it through. "I do not know where I am from." She said truthfully.

"Geez, lady. Do you know_ anything_ about yourself?" Jennifer asked.

_No. You don't. With time, my child... With time.._

Tessa decided to ignore the voice and press on. "I do not think I have a codename. I do not even think I am truly part of the X-Men." She said. She stood there another good two minutes, everyone waiting in anticipation, and her fearing the worst.

"I have..." She began, her voice already cracking up. "I have the ability of... Manipulation, I suppose." She closed her eyes and tried to will the pain away, but it wouldn't stop. It was as if saying these words broke down an unknown dam of concealed pain, and now it was flowing freely through her entire being. "There is life in all thing's. In water, in air..." She opened her eyes and eyed the surrounding people. "In you.

I am the death of all thing's; The end of all life," She continued. But even though she was telling everyone all this, she couldn't hear her own voice. The voice from her mind was overlapping her own. But the voice from her mind was familiar; known. It was Roxanne's.

But it wasn't just Roxanne's voice that was covering her own, it was another voice. One.. She had never heard before.

As she continued her words, a memory seemed to spark and flicker to life; but who's memory, she was not sure.

"I am death."

_"I am death." He said, grinning malevolently at the world below him. Lifeless bodies scattered the area beneath him, only adding to his pleasure. He was content at seeing his work; his doing. But he was not content. He needed more. _

_He lifted a giant arm over the plains under him, and slowly, slowly, bent his fingers to form a fist. While doing so, the death beneath him tremored and beat sporadically, until the flesh on the bones of the dead life beneath him caved in until there was nothing more than bones. Then, when it seemed no more life could be gained from it, the bones were measured into ashes, leaving the smell of burnt sulfur._

_Yes. He loved his abilities. He loved being God._

"But what is worse, I have yet to tell." She lamented. Head bowed, she again closed her eyes. "I.. Drain life, wherever I go. Most of the time, involuntarily. But... After I have drained life, I become stronger. I become unstoppable. The life coursed through the life I drained, courses through me. What you saw today.." She opened her eyes and looked at Evan. "It is most definitely not 'cool'. It anything but. It is horrible and wretched, just like I am wretched."

Jean shook her head. "Surely that can't be true."

Tessa looked up at her, ferocity in her eyes. "It _is_ true. I am a Monster. You do not understand. I can still _feel_ the life within me, that I have drained. I can feel the souls I have taken course through my own, I can feel their power become mine, their life, become mine! I absorb their life, their power, and leave them nothing but ashes! You think it is 'cool'?" She snarled. "You think it is 'funny'? 'Cute'? 'Amazing'? It is anything but. You do not understand." She fanned through the room, making eye contact with everyone. "None of you. And none of you ever will."

Jean was shell-shocked.

Jennifer looked.. slightly fearful. "You mean you've-"

"Yes." She said softly, barely audible. "I am a murderer."

She again fanned through the room, this time for the expressions of banishment and hatred among the 'nice' people.

But she saw something she wished she hadn't seen.

She gasped loudly and stepped back frantically, knocking over her chair with a horrible screeching sound.

"Clarice?" She whispered.

Yes. There in front of her was Clarice. Her 'piano teacher'.

What a lie. Mother had failed to mention at the time that Clarice.. Was her sister.

But she was dead.

And yet, there she stood. Just like Tessa had left her.

Clarice's short dirty-blond hair was splattered with her own blood, causing it to be torn into sticky hunks. Her eyes were as black and lifeless as Tessa remembered them, and her outfit was as dull, worn, tattered, and blood-stained as it had been before she left.

Clarice. Her reason for leaving; running away. And yet she was standing right there in front of her.

The scene before she left echoed in her mind like raw skin that had been peeled off.

Tessa _was_ a murderer. Clarice's death would always be a reminder of that. She had killed her. The memory was etched into her mind.

"No! No, I'm not-" Clarice began. But it was too much.

Tessa shrieked in terror and fled the room, leaving everyone behind. But where she would end up going, she did not know.

/ / / / /

Maybe hours passed. Maybe day's. Tessa didn't know. All she knew is that she had fled to her room in the Mansion, and from then on was tortured endlessly by memories and flashes of pictures of the past.

That is, until her door swung open; revealing everyone she had spoken to earlier, with the addends of Logan, Storm, and Xavier. Surely they had come to kick her out. How foolish she had been to believe she could stay!

But she did not hear words of repulse. "Come here, my child," Xavier's kind voice broke through the deafening silence. Slowly, perhaps too slowly, she did so. She brought herself up and forced herself to walk towards the man in the wheelchair.

"I heard you made quite the rescue, today." He said. Tessa bowed her head, letting her hair fall over her face in shame.

"After some thought, and discussion on the subject, we've decided that if your willing.." He started. Tessa glanced at him through her bangs. What was he getting at? This didn't sound like a boot out of the house.

"We would like to offer you to join the X-Men."

She looked up. Her jaw dropped. "Wh.. What?" She asked incredulously.

Xavier only smiled softly. "What do you say?"

She looked around at everyone surrounding her door. "I.. Even after..?"

There was approving nods around the room. Then she noticed there was something different, something off. But she couldn't quite place it.

"We've all done thing's we aren't proud of." Jennifer said. The interesting thing, though, was that her eyes seemed to go to the Professor..

That's when Tessa noticed the difference. There was a new face in the crowd; a girl with shoulder length brown hair and white streaks at where her bangs would be, if they weren't pulled to either side of her face. Not only that, but Scott was now there, too.

"I... You.. Approve?" She asked, in utter disbelief.

Xavier still gave her that waiting smile of his.

"I.. I don't think... I'm ready.." She stuttered.

Xavier nodded understandingly. "If you don't think your ready, then-"

And then, uncharacteristically, she interrupted.

"But I do have a name." She said softly.

He looked up at her patiently.

"Reaper," She muttered, going an octave higher towards the end.

"It is.. It is my name." She explained. "Tessa is slang for Theresa, which is greek for harvester; or as you would understand better in your 'nowday language': Reaper. Mother gave me this name for a reason; for a purpose. I know she did." She said softly.

"So your Mother Theresa now, is that it?" Bobby quipped. Tessa frowned and shook her head. "My name is not Theresa. It is Tessa. However.. Mother always told me I was a Reaper. Her double-purposes, I do not know."

"So Reaper it is, then." Xavier chimed.

Tessa looked at him for soothing and comfort, but somehow, found none. "Is that it, then?" She asked. "Am I an X-Man now?"

"If you wish," Xavier answered.

Tessa didn't feel any different. She still felt like the empty shell she was.

After everyone had assured her she was still welcome and left, Tessa lay down to sleep; where for once, in a long time, she found herself in a deep, undisturbed, rest.

* * *

><p><em>Ça y est!<em> = That's _it!_


	16. Tomatoes

**Silver: Your totally right. I DID copy and paste. (Macklin's, actually. Hers was the only one. I just didn't have the patience nor the time or the soberness to write it out myself, plus it's kind of hard to explain.) I was just too lazy. I'm sorry. I apologize. You also have to realize I was half-drunk when I wrote that chapter... *Dead of laughter* What, is with, the rhyming!  
>Ahh. I love Elton John's music. Not that any of it makes a lick of sense, but you know.<br>Sorry I haven't updated in a billion years. I was totally just not inspired, and I was working on other thing's... Plus I've been like super busy. Like, REALLY super busy. Super duper uber busy. :|  
>Real life is such work. Sigh.<br>Well, this is a filler, so if it seems empty and there's absolutely no plot gainage, that would be why. It's simply meant to fill in for my writing absence.**

* * *

><p>"Hustle!" Logan yelled. "You guy's are slow today. Hurry it up!"<p>

Tessa just couldn't do it anymore. She bent over and put her hands on her knees, practically fainting from all the physical excursion.

"I... Have yet again... Failed you.." She panted.

Jennifer heaved a big sigh, though inwardly she was glad for the excuse to stop and take a short break. "Oh, get over yourself already, would you?"

Tessa looked up, still heavily panting, but confused. "I.. Do not .. Understand what your-"

Jean, who was jogging in place, shot Jennifer a look.(Though, it may not have been entirely because of what she had said, but perhaps more focused on personal issues.) "What she _means_ is," She said, looking over to Tessa, "Don't sweat it."

Tessa flat out just collapsed onto the ground. "I do not think no sweat is possible at the moment."

Jean glanced at Logan, who seemed to be willingly ignoring their presence for the time being. "You better get up soon, or Logan's going to get angry."

Jennifer blanched at the sight of Logan turning around to look at them. "Make that an order. Look's like our patience time is up. Let's go!" And with that, she grabbed Tessa's waist and dragged her along in a limpy jog. Of course, she was an X-Man, and was therefore stronger than a normal person. Plus she was a mutant, though that didn't have anything to do with her being able to drag someone along with her.

Tessa was frail, and weak. Not to mention very lightweight. How she even walked would forever be a mystery.

In fact, now that Jennifer could feel her waist, she could tell that the pale girl either hadn't eaten in a long time, or was very malnourished. Maybe both.

"Geez. Don't you ever eat?" Jennifer huffed. At the question, she felt the smaller girl tense up. With this she stopped her limpish jog and looked at her pale face.

In complete seriousness, Tessa answered, "Never."

It took a few moments to really sink in. "What?" Jennifer asked incredulously.

Tessa removed herself from Jennifer's grasp and shakily stood up. "Please excuse me. I think I can stand on my own, now."

She had made the decision a short while after meeting Zara. Once the hunger had again set in, she decided that maybe choosing not to eat wasn't so bad after all. She could survive by her mutation alone, as long as she had enough energy floating around in her body to keep her on her feet. In fact, if she did that, she would never have to pay for food. And with coming to the Institute, she thought that not eating would make her less of a nuisance.

Especially after she told all those thing's about herself...

She didn't know where the words came from. She just found that once she started talking about her troubles, worries, and past, she couldn't stop.

No one had acted.. so.. differently toward her ever since she had told. Jean seemed to pity her more, Jennifer seemed more distant, Kurt seemed a little more nervous around her, and Evan seemed to be awkward around her, which was confusing.

Macklin hadn't spoken to her at all, in fact she seemed to be strangely silent. The smile that was constantly on her face went a little stale around Tessa, and it made Tessa feel like the person she truly was. A murderer.

Quinn had downright avoided her since then. But Tessa got the feeling it wasn't because she was afraid, but because she was ashamed. Of what, she didn't know.

"Tessa!" Jean's voice snapped her back to attention. She jumped at the volume of her voice and looked at the red-head like she had just thrown a water balloon at her. "I... I am sorry. What do you require?"

Jean gestured to the ground beneath her, expression a bit worried. Tessa looked down and grimaced at what she saw. Poor lawn. Where it was once green and vibrant, there was now a large circle of dead, pale grass around the small girl.

Not even bothering to look up, Tessa murmured, "Oops."

She looked up at her two companion's and tried her best at not looking sheepish. At least she was learning to say common thing's like 'Oops', right?

"Woah," Jennifer breathed. Tessa looked at her curiously, just as Jennifer's standard-X-Men gloved hand came to rest on her face. "You look... Healthier."

Tessa stared blankly at her for a few seconds before she finally caught what Jennifer was saying. "Oh. It is... My mutation. I absorbed the vibrant life of the grass, - albeit unknowingly - and now the life is flowing through me. It is hard to explain."

Jennifer let her hand drop and stared in wonder. "That's really cool."

Tessa sighed. There was that word again. 'Cool.' Really, it wasn't.

"Oh. Right. Not cool. Sorry." Jennifer retreated.

"It is alright," Tessa waved a hand to excuse it. "However, I think we should at least start walking. The one with the claw's... his face looks like a tomatoe."

Jennifer grinned and looked over at Logan. Lo and behold, he was scowling. Though his face wasn't exactly red like Tessa had described, it _was_ beginning to turn an odd color.

"Funny. I never thought Logan one to change facial colors when in anger." Jean stated absent-mindedly.

Jennifer nodded in agreement, grin still in place. "Yeah. He's kind of cute when he get's angry, though,"

Jean snapped to attention. "What?" She asked incredulously.

Tessa didn't know what was wrong with the statement. But as we all know, she isn't exactly a social expert.

Jennifer rolled her eyes, "I meant amusing."

Tessa tilted her head in thought, looking at Jean. She hadn't even really been paying very close attention to their conversation. In other words, she knew what they were saying, but wouldn't be able to repeat the conversation if the situation called for it.

A few seconds of this tilt-and-stare went on, before Jean finally cracked. "Do I have something on my face?" She asked.

Tessa, for the first time since she had been there, found true humor in something someone had said. "No," She smiled genuinely. "I was just thinking... You all have nicknames here, don't you?"

Jean nodded, eyebrow raised. "Well... Yeah.. Why?"

"Well, I was just thinking that.. Perhaps the name 'Tomatoe' would be suiting for you."

It was an innocent suggestion. Really, it was.

"What? !" Jean shrieked in disbelief. "Tomatoe? ?"

Jennifer was almost in tears from laughter. "Oh, man!" She cried, slinging an arm over Tessa's shoulder. "The thing's you say," She grinned at Jean. "I think it's suiting."

Jean crossed her arms in a still-unbelieving pout. "I am _not_ a tomatoe," She plead calmly.

Jennifer raised an eyebrow. "I think she was referring to your hair, Miss Perfect."

Jean gave her that look again. That inwardly seething, I-don't-know-why-you-piss-me-off, look. Tessa could feel the change in the atmosphere and quickly interjected her opinions on the matter before thing's could get out of hand. Her opinion being,

"Tomatoes are delicious."

Silence.

After maybe ten seconds, Jean finally let out a struggled sigh and smiled comfortably. "Yeah... They are."

"I told you to hustle! Move! Move! Move!"

Tessa jumped at Logan's booming voice and squeaked much in resemblance to a mouse.

"We better go."


	17. You've gotta be kidding me

**Alright. So I watched a few movies, watched a few episodes, read a few comics... Honestly, Kurt is the inspiration of my writing. You know that? Lmao. His character never ceases to catch my attention's.  
>Anyways. Onto business.<br>If your character hasn't been in the story much, or hasn't even been mentioned besides the introduction(Unless you were a minor character), then please sit tight. I have plans for all characters, and all will be in the story. For some, it will just take longer than others.  
>For example. I have great plans for Zara. But her big role in the spotlight has not yet come. With time, grasshoppers.. With time.<br>****Alright. I've really, really, got to stop writing after I've drank margarita's. Well... just drinking in general.  
>I totally go all-out crazy with the ZaraErik pairing. I am sorry, people. But I mean, really. Just how much cuter could you get? I love it. I'm sure Canid will recognize the nickname Erik gives her, and when and if that happens, your going to think I'm the corniest person ever. LOL.**

**HOORAY! I MADE ALL YOUR CHARACTERS LOOK LIKE TOTAL WEIRDOS!  
>In other words, I made drawing's of all your OC's. Sadly, it's not in 'Evo' drawing. It's in a more realistic view. Maybe later I'll make a more 'Evo' look. But not right now. Right now.. I need to go scan the pictures. XD<br>I'm just warning you. I don't DO shading, I don't DO combat poses(Very well), and I don't DO coloring! It's all lame traditional. And until I get my computer coloring program back, there won't BE coloring for a very long time!  
>I went crazy with their X-Men outfits. That's why they look like total weirdos. Like, really, really, weird weirdos. I doubt the actual characters would ever wear the outfits I made them, LOL. But at least their fictionally comfortable and easy to slip on.<br>..Right?  
>I just didn't know how else to be original? If they're really so horrifyingly horrible that they just must go, then they will. But I will require you to tell me what you want instead.<br>(I only have three up. When and if I finish the rest, I'll post them.)  
>The drawing's are so lame to how I envision them in real life. I mean, I envision them as real people. (And no.. I don't envision them in those lame outfits. XD) Like... I could definitely see Enzo or Jennifer or Zara being in an X-Men comic or movie.<br>****Oooohhh I'm in such a draw-y mood! I want to draw Jean. She's so fascinating. (I know, I know. Almost all of you girl's hate her. Lol. But I find the beauty in all thing's, her included.)**

* * *

><p>Mother's lips slowly curled up into a malevolent smile at the sight of the screen in front of her. Everything was going as planned.<p>

"Good, my pet," She hissed. "You are doing just as I knew you would."

In some kind of twisted satisfaction, she lifted a cold, pale and clawed hand to the orbed scene held in her focus.

"Oh, you think you are so far ahead of everyone, Eisenhardt. You are wrong." She grinned again, a truly horrifying sight to see.

"I will always be a step ahead of you."

/ / / / /

Jennifer heaved a long, heavy sigh. "I swear by the time the teacher's are done giving us homework, we'll have already forgotten anything they tell us!"

Tessa hugged the books in her arms closer to her and frowned in mild curiosity. "You do not even do your homework." She stated with an eyebrow raised.

Jennifer shrugged. "Just the thought of it gives me get a headache."

Tessa cracked a small smile, something that had been becoming more and more recent since she had 'confessed.'

It made her feel more free, being around people who she held no secrets from, and to have them still treat her like a 'normal' person. But that wasn't all. The headaches and voices and screaming had all gone away, except when she went to sleep.

Some time after Logan and Storm came back from whatever they had been doing in 'Rogue' and 'Scott' and something about Snow, Logan had approached her about her past. She told him everything she had confessed to everyone else, and when she was finished, he told her in a chilling seriousness, that it wasn't her fault.

Tessa didn't know what kind of secrets he held, she didn't know why he felt he could relate to her, and she certainly didn't know why someone with his reputation would be so protective of the students at the Mansion.

'His reputation?', you ask. Tessa was intrigued with him. So, she decided that as soon as the next day came, she would devote it to learning more about this 'Logan.'

She asked the students what they thought and what they knew of him, and then she asked Storm and the Professor. She learned very little. The only thing's she now knew about him was that he was supposedly was very gruff and untrusting in nature, and that he was the unofficial 'muscle' of the X-Men.

"You know, they make backpacks to carry those thing's." Jennifer gestured to Tessa's books she was fumbling with.

"Back-Pack?" Tessa repeated.

"Yeah. You know, something to carry all that baggage in?"

Tessa looked down at the books in her arms. When she first came to Bayville Highschool, carrying books wasn't a problem. But now the school was just loading up the stacks of homework and books. Not that it was a problem, of course. Tessa loved reading. She soaked in every ounce of knowledge that she possibly could. However, teacher's loading up the work wasn't the only problem. She found the small library there to be fascinating, what with all the different children's stories and poetry. She was constantly borrowing books and reading them.

Tessa looked back up at Jennifer, curiously excited about the thought of a 'Back-pack'.

"I have seen these bag's you speak of. Many students at the school have them." She said.

Jennifer chortled. "Yeah, many students have them."

A comfortable silence passed after that. Tessa hadn't thought of it until she started thinking,* but now the question nagged at her. But she didn't know if it were 'normal' to break a silence once it had been made. It took her a few seconds of contemplation, but she finally decided to just ask.

"Where are you taking me?"

Jennifer smirked. "Well, Ev's having fun with the camera he got from one of his teacher's, and since we don't have a DR session for a few hours, I thought I'd take you for a little surprise." She said.

Tessa looked at her in pure bewilderment. "Ev?"

Jennifer was somehow beginning to get used to this. "Evan," She answered, almost expecting her to ask.

"Alright." Tessa said in acknowledgement.

A few seconds passed. Jennifer was practically counting down.

3...2...1.

"What is a DR session?" Tessa asked.

Jennifer smirked in amusement. "Danger room session."

"I see."

More silence. It stayed that way for a long time, until the two finally got to their destination.

Tessa gaped up at the gigantic building. "What..._ Is_ this?" She asked in awe.

"Your heaven." Jennifer answered simply, grin in place.

Tessa looked at Jennifer in, again, bewilderment. "My.. What?"

Jennifer sighed and put an arm around the small girl's shoulders. "Just come on. I'll show you."

/ / / / /

"You wanted them to know, didn't you?" Zara asked.

Erik leaned back in his chair and kept silent for a moment, just watching the lithe woman's face. She was truly his greatest amusement. Sometimes it took all his willpower just to try and not let it show.

"Yes." He finally answered, careful to keep his expression and voice neutral.

Wonderment swam in the woman's eyes of endless sea-blue. He knew what she was thinking. 'What are you planning?'

"It is all a part of the greater picture, Zara," He cooed with an amazing conviction.

He stood up and walked around his desk to face her fully. The look on his face much resembled a Lion when they are served their food and are about to feast on it. It scared Zara. It sent chills down her spine. It made her love him all the more.

"And you, my little songbird..." He purred, raising an arm to trail a gloved finger over her pale cheek, "Are a big part of that greater picture."

/ / / / /

Jennifer had to practically drag Tessa away from the Library. Actually, that was exactly what she had done.

"Don't make me use my powers on you!" She had cried. Tessa hadn't budged from her perch on a chair. She was far too busy reading to even listen to her blue-streaked companion. Jennifer sighed loudly. "I should have known showing you the Library wasn't a good idea."

In the end, Jennifer showed Tessa how to apply for a Library card. Tessa got one, checked out alot of books, and was from there required to have aid in carrying her thing's.

Jennifer could already foresee Tessa's room being littered with books everywhere in the near future.

But Tessa's reading addiction wasn't the problem right now. The problem was that they _didn't_ have a Danger Room session. Instead, they had,

"Put your backs into it! Elf, turn that damn watch off!"

Tessa fell backwards onto the grass. "I think.. Logan will be.. My end.." She huffed.

Jennifer plopped down next to her. "No joke. His sessions are _tough!_"

"No breaks! Get up!" Logan barked.

Jennifer instead rested her head on her knees. "Come on, Wolvy. Give us a break. We've been going at it forever, now!"

Logan scowled at the nickname. "What did you just call me?"

Tessa sat up - with much struggle - and watched with fascination at the two's conversation. The more she watched Logan speak to people, the more she learned.

But then, she was also learning more about Jennifer, as well. While most students seemed to be vexatious, or even a little squirmy around Logan, Jennifer seemed to be actually... Comfortable. The only other person in the Mansion that shared the strange comfort seemed to be Kitty, but that could have been because she seemed to be very oblivious.

However, her attention didn't stay on them very long. Something blue moved out of the corner of her eye, and with her curious nature, she turned to see what it was.

Jennifer waved off his aggitation. "Forget about it. Hey, have you-" Jennifer trailed off at Tessa's expression. Sure, Tessa had alot of expression's like this, but it was always interesting to see the cause of the look on her face. Many times it was simple thing's, like a balloon or a vibrant color.

"Who is that?" Tessa asked.

Jennifer followed her line of sight. "Who is who?"

Tessa stared in awe, much like she had when she saw the Library. "The blue one." She stated.

Jennifer looked a little shocked. "Uhh... That's Kurt. You've met him before. Remember?"

Tessa crinkled her brows and faced her purple-eyed companion as if she were crazy. "That is not Kurt. Kurt is the one with-"

"That's his image inducer." Jennifer cut her off.

"Image inducer?" Tessa asked, purely confused and curious.

Jennifer raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. It changes his appearance. Didn't you know that already?"

Tessa looked back at Kurt, eyes wide and expression shocked. "No." She said simply.

It took her a few seconds to think, (All the while Logan and Jennifer began bickering again,) but then she finally processed the information fully.

"Jennifer," She beckoned, "If that band on his wrist is an image inducer, how does he teleport?"

Jennifer turned away from Logan. (Much to his aggitation.) "Er... It's his mutation." It's not like Jennifer was the stuttering type, it's just that it was so obvious. Everyone knew.. Right?

Tessa leaned forward in excitement. "Ooh!" She squealed.

Jennifer smirked. "Excited, a little?"

"Perhaps," Tessa shrugged with a small smile, "It is just interesting to learn new thing's."

There it came again. Tessa felt a blush rise up onto her face. Again, she raised her hands to her cheeks. "Why does this happen to me?" She asked incredulously.

Jennifer grinned like a cheshire cat. "Like you don't know."

Tessa didn't know what to make of her words. She knew? If she knew, why was she so puzzled?

Then it hit her.

"I have just had what you call, an 'Ahah!' moment," She said, "You are right, Jennifer. I think I do know." She let her hands fall from her face and help support her frail weight.

Jennifer crossed her leg's over another. "I knew you'd get it eventually."

"Kurt makes me sick!" She exclaimed.

Jennifer snapped her head to look at her. "What? ?"

Tessa nodded enthusiastically. "Kurt makes me sick," She repeated. "I am glad you have helped to inform me of this. I shall make sure to stay away from him from now on."

Jennifer facepalmed. "You can't be serious. No, you moron! He doesn't make you sick. It means you_ like_ him."

Tessa stared at her blankly for a few seconds, then crinkled her brows at Jennifer as if she had just said something entirely stupid. "Well of course I like Kurt. He is a very nice person."

Jennifer sighed and shook her head. "No. I mean you-"

"Class dismissed." Logan growled.

Jennifer stopped mid-sentence, mouth agape and ready to form her next word.

"And you," He pointed at the two, "Cleaning duties for a week."

Jennifer sprang to her feet, "What? !"

Logan looked pleased. (Well, as pleased as a scowling man with claws can look.) "Deciding not to work was your choice, Shorty."

Jennifer threw her hands in the air. "You've gotta be kidding me!"

"Nope." Logan frowned. "Maybe next time you'll think before you don't act."

Jennifer sighed loudly and twirled away from him. As she stomped out of his view she grabbed Tessa by the arm and dragged her along with her, all the while muttering, "You've gotta be kidding me."

* * *

><p><strong>*(A weird saying. I know. I made it. Lol.)<strong>


	18. An unusual set of coincidences

**LOLMAGNETOSCARESYOUXD**

**And, just again, in case you guy's didn't read in the last chapter, I made lame drawing's of Quinn, Macklin, and Jennifer. Jennifer's is old and Quinn's outfit is totally weird, but whatever. It's still there for the weird-minded.**

**Omgsh. :D  
>I'm glad I did alright on the ErikZara scene. I thought it was like too incredibly corny, lol. And if you want, the pictures are on my profile.  
>And.. I find the pairing cute, because.. Hmm... I don't know how to describe it. :P<br>Although, then again.. I view Mystique/Destiny as a cute couple, too... So... Hrm.. xD**

****Sorry. This ones a little late... With my parents getting a Divorce, thing's have been crazy. Sorry, guy's! (That's not the real reason. I mean, yeah, my parents are getting a divorce, but that isn't the reason it took so long to update. I got... Ahem.. Distracted. }:P )****

****16 day's 'til Christmas! (I'm not very excited, even though it sounds like it.)****

****I finally got around to fixing the Wii... It was really fun. :D  
>I seriously think I should be a repairman. }:D<strong>**

****BESIDES THIS! WHAT ABOUT THE _ACTUAL_ IMPORTANT THING'S IN LIFE! MARIETTA(My little sister) SAT ME DOWN! AND WE WATCHED THE PHINEAS AND FERB MOVIE! You know, the one with the stupid Doofinshmirtz who lost a train and became evil? AND I COULDN'T BELIEVE THE ENDING! UGGGHH! I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT $#%^?%!^$ DIDN'T WAIT! HE WAS TOTALLY GOING TO TELL ISABELLA HE FELT THE SAME WAY! UUGGGGGGHHHH!  
>Sigh. Your right. I'm a little late in watching it.<strong>**

****OMGSH! Okay, so on the second chapter, I can't believe none of you caught that. Charles closed the door 'As an afterthought'. Dudes and dudettes! He's not telekinetic! Jeez, I can't believe none of you caught that...****

****Ugh. This chapter was totally not supposed to be like this. e.e  
>The next chapter, for sure. It WILL be. I demand it! D:{<br>You know, I don't know if you guy's have noticed, but I totally just like scoop up the ending's of the chapter's. All my ending's are lame.  
>I wanted to end this one quicker because there was just too much in this chapter. The next chapter is probably going to be a big one, too. Sigh.<strong>**

* * *

><p>Quinn cartwheeled out of the way of a knife being thrown at her.<p>

"I don't think now is the time to get fancy," Macklin frowned.

Quinn shrugged. "Not fancy. Just fun."

Macklin was about to respond when her large-pupiled eyes widened and she grabbed Quinn's arm. "Look out!" She cried, pulling both of them away from a bullet.

Quinn blanched at the hole in the alleyway wall. "Geez," She looked back to Macklin, "I'm glad _your_ paying attention."

"It's not so much paying attention but more that I can see better than you." Macklin responded. She was referring to how dark it was. Today they were doing an excercise in the dark alleyways of New York New York, practicing being able to handle the unexpected.

"You never know who or what will be following you," Logan had said, "And you never know what your surrounding's will be like. You need to be aware. You need to be able to handle the situation."

So that's what they were doing. They were running from unknown people with seemingly endless amounts of weapons in a dark alleyway maze.

"I swear. One of these day's the Danger Room is gonna kill one of us!" Quinn yelped.

Macklin nodded in agreement but scanned the area instead of answering. "Is it just me, or did the action just suddenly stop?" She asked.

Quinn looked around, then looked back at Macklin. "Huh. Your right."

Macklin began backing slowly into the shadows. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

Boy was she right.

Almost the second she had finished her sentence, black-coated hands slithered around her arms and mouth before pulling her further into the shadows.

"Macklin!"

Quinn was a little scared now. Why did these sessions have to be so realistic?

"Macklin?" She called, look around the four-way alley they had wandered into. "Ma-Mffpt!" She was cut off by a hand clenched over her mouth. This had to be it. She would fail the class, today. (Not to mention earn a few bruises.)

Her frenetic thoughts were torn away the same moment the hand was. Quinn whipped around to look at her attacker, only to see the black-coated enemy laying face-down on the ground. And who, you ask, was standing over the person? The very person Quinn hadn't wanted to see.

"Are you alright?" Tessa asked.

The guilt from two days ago quickly began creeping up on Quinn again. "I..." She couldn't find the words to finish the sentence.

"Where is your companion?" Tessa relaxed from her combat position and stared at Quinn inquisitively.

"She.. A black-coat.. He, uh.." Quinn's words fled from her.

What was she supposed to say? Should she apologize?

A few seconds passed.

"Look, I..." Quinn finally began, "I just wanted to.. I mean,"

She was interrupted, crudely. A black boot made contact with Tessa's skull and sent her straight to the ground. Unfortunately, her head met the alleyway wall and she fell unconscious.

Quinn gasped and looked up at the attacker. The black-coated menace took a step towards her, raising the club in it's arms higher while doing so. She couldn't see it's face, it was not only covered by a mask, but it was also too dark to see.. Well.. Anything!

The simulated person took another slow step forward.

"Stop the simulation!" Quinn croaked. A few seconds later, the person and the surrounding's evaporated into fizzy lines of technology.

Less than a minute later, the door to the giant room opened, and Logan scowled in at the confused students. Without a word, he swiftly made his way over to the only unconscious person in the room. He frowned down at her, but didn't say anything. Instead just he picked her up and simply left.

"What happened?" Jennifer asked, trotting over to Quinn. "And where's Macklin?"

Quinn turned towards her and frowned. "A simulation person knocked her out."

Jennifer frowned back. "That's it? A person just 'knocked her out'?"

Quinn nodded. Jennifer's frown deepened. "Your kidding me," She sighed. "That girl has gotta be the weakest person I've ever met."

Quinn nodded again. Jennifer looked at her skeptically. "You've been real quiet lately. What's up with you?"

Quinn blanched. "I.. I don't really know if I wanna talk about it." And how could she? She barely knew Jennifer. The only person she had really talked about it with was Macklin, and even then she had only given small information.

"Oh, I get it. You just don't want to tell _me._ That's okay." Jennifer smirked.

"What? No, I just-"

Jennifer waved a hand as if to shoo the situation away. "Forget about it." She said. Jennifer then looked at Quinn very seriously. "But you know, I think I have a pretty good idea of what's the matter. And if I'm right, your going to have to talk to Tessa about it. You know that, right?"

Quinn set her lips into a thin line and looked at Jennifer as if she had just said something very sad.

"I know." The words came out as barely an audible whisper.

In an awkward attempt to be comforting, Jennifer patted her back weirdly. "Well, uh... Not that we're chummy* friend's or anything, but I wouldn't worry about it too much. She's knocked out cold, remember?"

Quinn nodded. Chummy? She couldn't help a smirk. "I guess so. I'll just have to wait in the Medical Bay for her to wake up."

"That's the spirit."

/ / / / /

"Hello."

The words were warbled and almost made no sense. It sounded like the voice of whoever - or whatever - it was, was coming from miles away. Almost like listening to a voice in water. The voice had no gender, it was just.. There.

Tessa tried to form the words to speak, but found she couldn't move at all. Her mouth felt dry and sticky, and her lips felt chapped and dry.

Where was she? Tessa couldn't see anything, so she couldn't make out where she was.

"You are in your mind."

The voice again. This time, clearer. But more echoed.

Tessa didn't understand her words. She was in her mind?

She wanted to ask questions, but yet again her words failed her.

Slowly, like waking up out of a ginormous fog, the darkness swirled away like smoke in only one area; far away from where Tessa could see.

She tried to move to come to the lit area, but yet again found nothing on her body could move. Come to think of it... It didn't even feel like she _had_ a body, at the moment.

But she didn't have to. The lit area came closer and closer, like a leaf is gently pushed across the water. As it came closer, the complexity of it did, too. The fog got lesser and lesser until she could clearly see a bench. On the bench was a woman clothed in a worn brown scarf, an expensive-looking wrap-around coat, black tights and heeled boots. The woman's head was bowed, looking at the tanned hands in her lap.

All so suddenly, Tessa felt something that might have been her body come back to her; but it was very light. She felt much like a feather. Except now, she could see herself. She was wearing the same white dress she always does, only it looked perfectly new and clean.

She didn't have control of wherever this figment of herself went, so she was partially surprised when she found herself sitting down next to the woman. It would seem she didn't have any say in the matter.

Tessa looked at the woman. She had clean, silky, lightly curled chocolate brunette hair and big doe brown eyes. Her face was smooth, young, and wrinkle free. She had no scars, moles, or pimples to be seen on her beige skin.

This beautiful young woman seemed to be lost in thought, all whilst her long-lashed eyes cast down and staring at her petite hands.

She looked amazingly familiar, but Tessa couldn't quite place where.

Then the woman looked up at her.

Recognition and realization both hit at once, and it was like Tessa had just had hot water dumped on her. And then, it was like she could speak, but without moving her illusion of a mouth or even forming the words.

"Roxanne?"

/ / / / /

"She really needs to get new clothes." Jennifer frowned down at Tessa's still unconscious body.

Macklin snorted. "Just don't tell Kitty that."

Jennifer opened her mouth to reply when, like magic, said mutant popped out of a nearby wall.

"Don't tell me what?" The brunette asked with an easy smile on her face as she strode towards the group.

Jennifer looked at her like she had grown another head. "That's creepy."

Kitty only grinned in response.

There might've been another conversation following Kitty's grin, but no one will ever know, because Evan barged through the door with Rogue trailing behind him. When he saw Jennifer and Kitty, his face lit up in triumph.

"I need to borrow you two," He said, waving Jennifer and Kitty over.

The two complied, but Jennifer still looked at him in curiosity. "What for?" She asked.

He just shook his head at her and led her away with one hand on her back, the other one holding a camera. "I'll explain on the way."

After they left, the room was plunged into silence. It stayed that way for awhile, until Macklin finally looked over at Quinn, who hadn't said a word since they got to the Medical Bay. She was leaned over in her chair, arms on her knees, hands folded together and eyes focused on Tessa.

"You've been real quiet lately." Macklin started. Quinn didn't look up. Her focus stayed on the sleeping girl. About twenty seconds passed until she finally continued. "Your really guilty about it... Aren't you?" She asked.

Quinn looked up at her friend and searched her face for awhile, before finally nodding. She cleared her throat and looked back at the medical patient, face unreadable. "Yeah."

There was more silence for a long while, and Macklin was about to get up and leave the two in peace, when Quinn spoke up again. "I just... The memory I saw.." She looked like she was between breaking up and staring in disbelief. "The feeling's I felt," She motioned with her hands to further explain. "I mean, I just.. I've never felt anything like that before. And to come out of the memory and see her face like it was... It was just..." She shook her head. "Horrible."

Macklin nodded silently and stared at nothing for a long while, lost in her own thoughts and leaving Quinn no words to break up her own.

Quinn's young friend eventually decided that there was nothing more to be said, and left her and the patient alone.

It stayed that way for about five minutes; Quinn just sitting there listening to the heart monitor, lost in thought.

She was thinking of how to word her apology to her,(Or at least make it comprehensible) when the heart monitor connected to Tessa (The Professor had said it was a 'precaution') started beeping startlingly faster.

Quinn almost jumped from her seat at the loud noise, and when she finally realized what was actually going on, her eyes widened and she went to go look for help.

/ / / / /

"Tessa." Roxanne responded politely.

Tessa gaped at her. Well, if she had any control over the illusion of her body, then she would have. Instead it was more of a forever blank stare.

So many questions came all at once. How? Why? What's going on?

"I have already told you," Roxanne snipped, "You are in your mind."

Tessa just stared further. Roxanne sighed. "You are here, because I have called you here."

She called her here?

"It would be easier if you would simply use the mouth I have provided for you." Roxanne frowned.

Tessa blanched inwardly. "What do you mean?"

Roxanne's perfect eyebrows furrowed into a scowl, but even then she looked beautiful. In Tessa's eyes, anyway. "I mean exactly what I said. I have provided you with a mouth. In fact," She looked away from Tessa and leaned back into the bench, seeming to stick her nose into the air. "I have provided you with everything. A body, a place to sit, clothes... You should be bowing at my feet right now."

Tessa didn't know whether to be offended or just be completely flabberghasted. Maybe both. "But this is my mind, correct? That is what you said. How can you provide for me here?"

Roxanne looked at her as if she were the stupidest person to ever live. "I can provide for you here," She sneered, standing up and looking down at her menacingly, "Because I control you."

Tessa inwardly gaped again. What was she talking about? Tessa was between being fearful and being doubtful. Instead she decided she should be inquisitive at the moment. "Alright. Where are we?"

Roxanne frowned again, this time more impatiently. "I have alread-"

Tessa tried to put up a hand to stop her mid-sentence, but again, it didn't work. The only thing she could control was her voice. "I mean to say, where are we in my mind?"

This time, Roxanne's whole demeanor changed. She looked somewhat between a caring teacher and an awed historian. She waved her hand, and Tessa's illusion stood up to join her. The bench and the light all disappeared, but Tessa could still see Roxanne's visage. It was odd. Well, then again.. All of this was odd.

"We are in a place known to few. It is a place between the Astral plane and consciousness," She ran an arm through the thick darkness, seemingly appearing to gesture to wherever they were.

"Astral Plane? What is this you speak of?" Tessa asked.

Roxanne glanced at her. "The knowledge has already been imparted to you."

Roxanne waved her hand again, and a blinding light flashed. If Tessa had pupils at the moment, she would have been blinded for sure. When the light faded, they were in a hallway made of purely white. The hall seemed to have no light source whatsoever, yet it was still as bright as day. On each side of the hall were many doors, all labeled, all black. All except for the door at the end of the hall. That one was white. But you could clearly tell there was a door there, because the knob on it was glistening gold.

Tessa looked behind her. There was only a white wall. "Where are we?" She asked.

Roxanne walked very slowly down the hall, steps heavy and prideful. "We are where we are. In your mind."

Tessa remained silent. It suddenly occured to her, once Roxanne had said those words, that it seemed even she didn't know where they really were.

Roxanne stopped in front of the fourth door down, on the right side. With her hand on the handle, she stopped mid-step and turned a flawless cheek to Tessa's illusion. "Before we enter..." She trailed, "How old are we?"

Tessa looked at her incredulously. Little did she realize, her illusion actually did share the look she inwardly had, this time. "We?"

Roxanne didn't look up from her set gaze on the black door, and Tessa couldn't see her expression. "Yes... We. Both of us are the same person. Now, anyway."

Tessa looked at her in pure confusion. "Now? What are you talking about?"

Roxanne took her hand off the door and turned to Tessa, realization donned on her face. "You... You don't know, do you?"

Tessa just continued to give her the look of confusion. Roxanne stepped away from Tessa and put a hand to her mouth in thought. "Of course you don't. Why should you? That would explain The Locked Door.." The rest of her mumbling's were incoherent.

What was she even talking about?

Tessa was about to ask just that, when Roxanne turned back to her. "Come with me." She waved Tessa towards herself as if to make her follow faster. Roxanne sped down the hallway, headed for the golden-knobbed door. Tessa followed.

Once there, Roxanne turned abruptly to Tessa and frowned impatiently. "Open this door." She ordered.

Tessa looked at her oddly. "Why must I? Can you not?"

Roxanne sighed loudly and threw her head back, rolling her eyes. "Just do it!"

Tessa didn't budge. "Tell me why you need this door opened." She said calmly. If there was one thing Mother had taught her, it was caution.

Roxanne scowled. "Because your right. I can't open it. I need you to open it."

Tessa would have shrugged, if she had control over her illusion. "I cannot, either. I have no control of my body." She said simply.

Roxanne's face looked to be sorting thing's out for a few moments, then she finally stood up straighter in some kind of conclusion. "Your are right," She exclaimed. "You must learn to focus." She said, beginning to pace. "If you learn to control your mind, then you can open the door."

Tessa turned towards the pacing illusion. "Why exactly do we need the door open, anyway?"

Roxanne stopped pacing, back faced Tessa. After a few moments, she answered, "Because then I can show you."

Tessa was nearing exasperation. "Show me what?"

Roxanne turned to face her, expression unreadable. "The truth." She said simply. There was silence for a few more moments. Tessa was about to ask another question, when Roxanne continued. "All your questions will be answered if I can just show you." She murmured.

Tessa was yet again flabberghasted. "The voices?" She squeaked.

"And so much more."

Tessa gaped at her for a long two minutes, until she finally willed her illusion of a voice to speak. "But... You already have the answers?" She asked.

Roxanne nodded softly. Tessa narrowed her eyes at her in question. "Then why must we open a silly door?"

Roxanne scowled again. "Because. I won-"

There was a crashing noise from all around the hallway the moment her mouth went to form her next words. The hallways rumbled and shook, and surprisingly knocked Tessa off her illusion feet. She felt no pain when she hit the apparent ground, but from her sight she could tell she was indeed knocked down.

Roxanne looked around frantically, then looked at Tessa one last time. "I hope I will speak with you later. Try, Tessa. When you lay down to sleep, try. I will be waiting."

/ / / / /

Tessa's eyes opened and bright lights flooded into her vision painfully. Two blurry figures slowly came into focus, leaving a headache in their wake.

"Professor! She's conscious!"

Tessa groaned. Why must people speak so loudly?

Slowly, she felt her body come back to life. She leaned up and squinted at her surrounding's. She was in the Medical Bay. There in the room with her was the Professor, Storm and Quinn. All three were practically hovered around her. The Professor was frowning thoughtfully, Storm looked surprised, and Quinn looked like she had just seen a ghost.

"What is wrong?" Tessa asked, after a few moments.

Quinn's mouth opened and closed a few times, as if she were about to say something, then decided she wouldn't.

Tessa raised an eyebrow at her. "You look like Macklin in partial-hybrid."

Quinn's mouth snapped shut.

"What happened?" Storm asked incredulously.

Tessa looked at her, confused. "What do you mean?"

Storm opened her mouth to speak, but Quinn's voice was all to be heard. "You-" She was then interrupted by the Professor. "No." He said.

It took a few moments for the words to materialize. "That was a strange set of interruptions." Tessa stated.

She expected someone to nod, but no one did. Tessa looked around a little, then faced the Professor. "Where is Jennifer?"

Quinn answered for him. "Evan took her, Kitty and Rogue someplace. Something to do with the school camera."

"And Jean?" Tessa asked, a blank look on her face, but a curious voice.

"I believe she is with Duncan." The Professor interjected.

Tessa's view shifted between the three. "What about Logan?"

This time it was, surprisingly, Storm who spoke up. "He left a little while ago."

Tessa stared blankly at her. Too much information, Roxanne, answers and questions in such a short time. It was taking awhile to process.

"I think I need to lay down." She said.

The Professor looked to be in thought for a moment, but finally answered, "I think that would be for the best."

* * *

><p>*Haha. Chummy. Hah.<p> 


	19. Confrontation

**If I hurt anyone's feeling's with the Rampage, I'm sorry. I really am. But that really... URGH. That's irks the shit out of me.  
>Sigh. I'm so sorry guy's. I've just been overly on edge lately with everything going on. (I know. Confiding is not something we do on Fanfiction. But I need to give you guy's an explanation. So this is it. If you want an excuse, you can go take it up with the death metal I've been listening to.)<br>Besides this. Ah, Canid. It's so good to hear from you again. I like reading your reviews. And yes, the last chapter was pretty much just a bunch of plotwork. And I wasn't mad because people thought Tessa was an OC, but because I used my name for her character. We're not the same people. This is not a self-insert.  
><strong>**Gha. *Hits self repeatedly* Macklin is an optimist. Macklin in an optimist. She's like me. An OPTIMIST. Not a snooty person. Not a snooty person.  
>Maybe if I say it enough I'll actually make her into her actual character. =.=<strong>

* * *

><p>Well, as it turns out, Tessa didn't get any sleep. The headache she got when she woke up in the Med Bay was still very much with her, and kept her awake. She couldn't exactly go anywhere, either, though. Ever since the meeting with Roxanne, she had felt more drained than she could ever remember.<p>

So many questions swam around in her mind. What did Roxanne mean when she said, 'Try'? Did Roxanne know she wouldn't be able to sleep? If so, why did she tell her to 'Try' when she went down to sleep? Was Roxanne the person to_ give_ her the headache? What happened after she fell into... Wherever she had been?

There were no answers.

Tessa was tired of just laying in her bed, slowly losing sanity. She pushed herself up off that bed, got up, and got out of that room. There was no point stressing over questions with no answers.

She was headed for outside, just passing through and being completely unbothered, when she passed the kitchen. Yes, normally it wouldn't be an attraction, but Quinn was in there. What does that mean? That means she could get a question answered.

However, there was something.. She didn't know what, telling her to just stand back and wait. For what, she didn't know.

"Man. I'm so glad the school year is almost over." Jennifer, who was sitting with Quinn and Macklin at the island, said.

Quinn groaned her agreement.

"School isn't so bad." Macklin piped.

Quinn shrugged. "Sure it isn't, but Summer is amazing. I mean, there's tons of fun thing's to do. Camp, Biking, Hiking..." She looked pointedly at Macklin with a smile, "Swimming... And best of all, no homework!"

Macklin was ready to respond, when Jennifer sat up. "Hey! Speaking of which, are you guy's going to that summer camp?"

What detail! She should write novels.

"Summer camp?" Quinn asked.

Jennifer nodded. "Yeah. Professor Xavier said it would be good for us or something."

Macklin shook her head. "No, she means what summer camp."

"Oh," Jennifer raised an eyebrow, "Well.. I think there's a billboard somewhere around here about it. It's a survival camp or something."

Quinn grinned weirdly. "Sounds like fun."

Tessa stepped back from the doorway. She didn't think she should really interrupt the casual situation.

"So why are you even hanging out with us?" Macklin asked Jennifer, an eyebrow raised. Jennifer looked at her in offense, but Macklin quickly said, "What I mean is, you've never cared before. I mean, we've all lived here for years and you've never even given us a glance. So why now?"

Jennifer smirked. "Why, I just wanted to get the inside scoop on what happened yesterday," She said. Macklin looked like she was contemplating whether or not she was being sarcastic, when Jennifer sighed and rolled her eyes. "Not really. I was just kidding. Ev's busy and Scott's hanging out with Jean," She made a face, "So I decided I'd come hang out with you guy's."

Macklin looked at her weirdly. "What about Tessa?"

Jennifer shrugged. "Don't know. I think she's been couped up in her room ever since yesterday."

At this, Tessa shyed away into the corners of the hallway, beyond the sight of the doorway but still where she could see the group.

"Did you see something?" Quinn asked.

Jennifer looked at her oddly. "Where?"

"In the doorway."

Jennifer shook her head. "Nope. Your probably just hallucinating."

At this Quinn gave her an annoyed look, to which Jennifer returned with a wink and a smirk.

Jennifer suddenly got very serious. "But really. I wasn't completely joking about wanting to know what happened yesterday." She leaned back and shrugged, "I was too busy getting my butt kicked by Sabretooth to be here, so I need the details."

Macklin looked at her curiously. "Yeah.. How are you guy's holding up from that, anyway?"

Jennifer shrugged again. "Doing fine, mostly. Just a few bruises and cuts. Well, except for Kitty. She got the worst end of it," She looked at her two companions and shook her head. "Girl was thrown straight into a tree. I swear. I've never seen anyone fly like that, before."

There were headshakes and tsks from the listening group.

"But forget about that. What went down with you guy's yesterday?" Jennifer looked back to Quinn.

Quinn looked like she was remembering an alien invasion. (Does that make sense? ;P) "It was the weirdest thing I've ever seen." She stated.

All ears perked up. Tessa leaned a little closer.

"One minute, I was just sitting there in front of her, the next minute, she was dying." Quinn shook her head in confusion. "I don't even know what really happened. I went for help, and when we came back she was already flatlined. We did everything we could to save her, but there was nothing we could do. She was already gone."

Everyone leaned closer this time. "The Professor said there was something wrong with her mind," Quinn continued, "And suggested we simply wait. So we did. About five minutes later she opened her eyes and just... Came alive."

Jennifer looked shell-shocked. "Was it her mutation?"

Quinn shrugged. "I don't know. Probably. It would make sense, wouldn't it?"

Tessa didn't stick around to hear the rest of the conversation. Alot more thing's made sense now. Roxanne, yesterdays events, Quinn's reaction...

She went to make her leave from the shadows of the doorway when she ran into someone. Literally. Her, being the lightweight she was, fell straight down onto her backside.

Oof.

She looked up, and there stood a furry blue mutant. "Kurt." She said politely.

Kurt looked far more surprised than she did. "Tessa! Are you okay?"

He stuck out a hand to help her up. Her, being herself, had no idea what to do with it.

Tessa stared at it for awhile, then looked back up to him with an eye raised. "That is a very nice hand you have there."

Kurt looked at her weirdly. "Uhh.. I... Zhank you...?"

When she didn't take his hand and instead stood up herself, he retracted it awkwardly. "Vhat vere you doing out here?"

Tessa opened her mouth in a loss for words.

"Aha! See? I told you I heard something." Quinn's voice rang out from the Kitchen. Tessa tensed up and looked at the doorway like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Well take a look at that," Jennifer, who was trailing right behind Quinn, said. "She actually came out of her room."

Tessa tried a weak smile. "I suppose so."

Macklin trailed over to the rest of the group and raised an eyebrow at Tessa. "Were you eavesdropping on us?"

If there was one thing Tessa wasn't good at, it was lying. But then, of course, she was bad at alot of other thing's, too...

"I... Was... I.. I didn't mean to... I mean..." She stuttered, staring wide-eyed at Macklin. She was again at a loss for words.

Jennifer stepped up and slung an arm over Tessa's thin shoulders. "Forget about it. Even if you were, it's fine. It's not like it was anything you weren't supposed to know," She winked at the frail girl, "So don't sweat it."

Tessa looked up at her in thankfulness. She truly had to be what everyone called a 'Knight in shining armour'. That _was_ how you used the saying, wasn't it? Oh well. It didn't matter.

"Hey, Tessa," Quinn spoke up. Tessa turned to look at her in response. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Tessa looked at her oddly. "Of course you can. You are doing so right now. And you of course have my permission to talk to me for more than a minute, Quinn."

Pretty much everyone except Kurt looked like they were about to facepalm themselves. Kurt looked more amused than anything. (That happens alot with her aquaintances. Jennifer was amused in the beginning, too.)

"I, uh.. I meant could I speak with you in _private_." Quinn tried again.

Tessa didn't quite understand why she had to speak with her away from anyone else, but she nodded her confirmation anyways. Quinn took her for a short walk until they were somewhere outside, away from anyone with listening ears.

"What is it you wanted to speak with me about that caused for us to be alone?" Tessa inquired.

Quinn leaned up against a nearby tree and tried not to focus too much on the ground. "I just wanted to apologize," She said.

Tessa looked at her, again, weirdly. Quinn didn't miss a thing. "You know.. I mean.. For turning into that Clarice girl."

Tessa was completely confused now. "What are you talking about?"

Quinn looked at her for a moment, sorting thing's out, before she finally stood up away from the tree and frowned at Tessa. "The night you told us about your powers," She explained, "I turned into Clarice."

Tessa just stared at her. What she was saying made no sense.

Quinn sighed. "My mutation allows me to morph into the appearance of someone from someone else's past."

Both were silent. Tessa was trying to figure out her words, and Quinn was waiting for any type of response. A good few minutes later, Tessa finally caught on. "But then.. How do you know who Clarice is? I have never told anyone about her." Not that she really had anyone to talk to.

Quinn leaned back up against the tree. "Because.. Well, I can see some of the target's memories."

Tessa's eyes widened and she gaped at Quinn in fear. She could see her memories.

Tessa's sight didn't reach the girl in front of her. Her mind was too warped to think or see anything, at the moment. There was only one thing running through her mind.

It was time to go.

Sure, she had just become an X-Man, but it seemed that they hand out X-Men invitations to everyone. She shouldn't have even agreed to stay here, in the first place. She should have looked into Zara's offer the moment it had been discussed.

But that was no matter now. Right now, she had to run.

The thought of packing had occured to her for a short moment, but then she realized she had nothing to pack. She also realized then that the thought had only occured to her because of the movies she had watched with Kurt and Alison, or because of the books she had gotten from the Library.

Of course!

She did have something to pack. Her Library card. She would just have to return her books on the way out.

"I have to go." Tessa muttered frantically. Quinn didn't get the chance to have any say in the matter, because Tessa was already sprinting off towards her room.


	20. Enter: DeLuca

**The last chapter was pretty rushed. I'm sure you could tell. But whatever, you know? It's the Holiday's. Busy busy.  
><strong>**OMFGGGGGGSSSH! That's a pretty good price! The original comic book, Uncanny X-Men, book 2 is available for $400.00! *Add to shopping cart*  
>*Giggle* Kurt is so cute when he tries to impersonate that swashbuckling fellow. "Auf wiederstein meine freunds!" I totally just spelled that wrong. But lol. Aww. Lolol. You aren't being inconspicuous, doing that, Kurt. :P And lol. Stan and Jack, LOL. "They never did this when WE wrote the comics."<br>"Aw, come on, Jack. You know young people nowdays."  
>Which makes me realize. LOLOL. They're in the comics AND the movies! Baahahhahahah.<br>Give me a break. It's like 7 in the morning and I haven't gone to bed yet.  
>Oh, eek. I need to at least FINISH chapter 6...<br>Sigh. Why, 80's music? Why? What did I do to deserve getting this bombardment of feeling's from you? Dx  
>That's it, 80's music. We're breaking up. I'm going back to 50's music!<br>Dooley wears tan shoes with pink shoelaces~  
>With a polka-dotted vest and man, oh man~<br>I'm so old.  
>I should have been born in the 40's... No 30's, though. I don't want to live in the Depression. The 50's were great though.. Dammit... I wish I could go back to those day's. Sigh...<br>If I had been born in the 50's, I wouldn't even have to worry about Miley Walrus or Justin Beaver. That IS what the kid's are talking about nowdays, right?  
>Ignore my craziness. Just read. Try to enjoy. Review. Come back later once your done.<br>It's a Winter Wonderland in Colorraaadddooo~  
>Snow is every-Wherrrrre~<br>I have, the taste, of tequila~~  
>All, over, my tongue~<br>I'm singing this completely off-key on purpose and totally butchering the song~  
>*To be sung in the tune of 'Go to sleep my little baby'*<br>I need sleep~  
>I need sleep~<br>But I can't have, now can I?  
>I need sleep~<br>I need sleep~  
>But I'm busy rea-ding Kurt~<br>Hm. I'm hungry.**

* * *

><p><strong>BLAH. Forget the whole horrible lack-of-sleep craziness above.<br>Silverstarsofquebec: Maybe she's on her period. LOL. XD  
>And yeah. I know what you mean, lol. I understand. To me it feels like when I write this, it's always like:<br>Tessa sat down. Tessa was feeling sad. [Insert name here] made her feel sad. The sky is grey. Birds are purple.  
>Real bland a repetitive and stupid and boring and blah. No, really. Blah. It's an adjective.<br>Omgsh. I just went and read the last chapter, and your right! It's like really really repetitive! "She went to bed. She got off the bed. She was losing sanity over no answers. She would not stand to kill herself over no answers. She left, because there were no answers."  
>But that's lame. The real news is...<strong>

****MERRY CHRISTMAS!****

****THE LAST FEW CHAPTERS SUCK BECAUSE OF LACK OF SLEEP! 8D****

****Blahhhh. Enzo's mutation is weird to explain when in battle. But I guess everyone's is, really.****

****...****

****I am so making this a comic. }:D****

* * *

><p>The time draws near, Zara." Erik told the woman walking alongside him. The words he spoke didn't sound like idle chit-chat or informative information. They sounded more like he was giving an unknown command.<p>

He led her around another corner of the neverending hallways in the Acolyte base. "She will come soon. And once she does, everything will fall into place. Then, and only then, will my plans finally turn into motion. She is a key element," He stopped in front of a door and turned to her, hand on the doorknob and frown in place. "And yet only a small part of the greater picture." He mumbled the words lowly, eyes unfocused and eyebrows furrowed in thought.

A slow smile made it's way onto Zara's face. It was times like these that she relished. Instead of wearing a mask of neutrality, he showed a sign of comfort in her presence by letting the emotions inside him reflect on his expression.

His eyes refocused and looked directly at Zara. The abrupt motion made Zara stand up a little straighter, like an officer caught slacking off. The smile on her face was quickly replaced with a serious expression.

At seeing this, Erik smirked. Vaguely, but the upward curve of one side of his lips was still there. "Come. I want you to meet our new hire," He opened the door his hand was on, and in the room, sitting on a chair, was a young man - Maybe somewhere in his early twenties - with an easy smirk and a mischievous glint in his interesting demon red-on-black eyes.

Erik grinned sardonically, his helmet casting dark shadows on his malevolent expression. "I like this one."

/ / / / /

Tessa got all the books she could carry, and even all the books she couldn't carry, (In other words, she made a makeshift bag out of the length of her dress.) grabbed her Library card and she was off. She speedwalked out the heavy doors of the Mansion and made a beeline to get those books back to where they belonged. The funny thing is, she wasn't even stopped or interrupted from her breakaway from the X-Men life. No one even bothered to give her a glance. It was as if they didn't notice her at all.

Maybe it was normal for teenagers to be running around with a billion books in their dresses. Tessa didn't know. But frankly, right now it didn't matter. All she cared about was getting away.

This was different from the time she told them about her mutation. It was alot different. Before, everyone had just been hinted at being told that she was a murderer. Basically, they didn't really know how horrible she truly was. They couldn't have, right?

But now it was worse. They had someone who could_ see_ her memories.

If they found out anything about her... She could be captured and used like Mother had always warned her. Or worse... They could take Mother and hurt her.

Yes, it was true. She loved The Mother.

When she had thought about it... Mother had always taken care of her. And after thinking it through, it wasn't Mother's fault what happened to Clarice. It was her own. She couldn't cast the blame on anyone but herself.

But that topic was, yet again, something she couldn't care to think about at the moment.

She had thought about what she would do with school. In the end, she decided that 'School' was pointless for her. They were reviewing thing's she already knew. She wasn't sure if they were just trying to get the kids to remember the thing's they've learned or not, but she was sure that she didn't need to review all the time.

Just like she wouldn't be going back to the Mansion, she wouldn't be going back to School.

The Library was in sight, now.

She didn't care about where she would sleep. She would find somewhere. It wasn't really that hard. An alleyway, a rooftop...

She dumped the books into the 'Book Return', something Jennifer had taught her to do once she was done with them.

Turning away, she realized now how late it was getting. She had already gotten out of bed at a late time, but now it was almost dark out.

She decided she better find a place to stay for the night.

/ / / / /

"You mutant scum!" Some random wannabe gangster cried out, balling up his fists and leading the rest of his buddies to try and corner said mutant.

Enzo had seen them trailing behind him for part of the day, oh-so-subtly, but he had chosen to ignore them. They weren't worth his time. Nothing was, really. Even now that they were starting to take some action on their feeling's, he wasn't worried. He didn't really care, to be honest.

He didn't even bother to turn around. What was the point? He could feel them through the vibrations in the air, therefore he didn't even need to see. Not that he could anyway.

The tension in the lead mutant hater built up all around his arm and shoulder, and Enzo anticipated his attackers next movements before he even made them. The man slung back his arm and made a tight fist* before throwing it forward toward Enzo's head. Enzo ducked before the man's knuckles made any contact and quickly spun around, throwing his outstretched arm to the side in the motion. He took the man by the front of his shirt and snarled into his face, "You don't want to mess with me."

The attacker stared in cocky hatred at Enzo's shadow-covered face, seemingly unaffected. "I think you've got it wrong..." He spat. His friends from behind him crept closer. "..Buddy."

Enzo threw the man from his grasp and took a few steps back. The group in front of him donned smirks of hatred and battle-ready stances.

Instead of doing what any normal person would do; flee, maybe get ready for a fight... He just grinned.

"I guess you won't live to find out."

He pulled back his arms, then in one motion, thrust both them forward like he was about to clap. Invisible sources of energy waved through the air with a tremendous energy, knocking back the entire group and possibly leaving them dead. Enzo could swear he heard of one them moaning something about being deaf.

Not even four seconds after this happened, another small group came running towards him.

"It's a mutant! Get him!" One holding a baseball bat cried.

Enzo fought back a groan. He did not feel like fighting, today.

/ / / / /

After not even a half an hour of searching, Tessa found a good place to rest. It was somewhat protected and had a small semi-roof; anything a young girl on the run could look for.

She was about to sit down and see if she could 'Try' whatever Roxanne had suggested, when she heard a loud shout come from a few yards away from her place of rest.

"It's a mutant! Get him!"

Tessa almost jumped out of her skin. From across the way, she could see a small group of ruffian-looking males making their way towards an alley somewhere close to where she was.

She got to her feet and walked away from her little corner, and almost got ran over by another male much bigger than her running away from the mutant-hating group. Now, she wasn't exactly good with people, but it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what was going on. She watched after the running person, and while she was deciding whether she should take action or not, she again almost got run over; this time by the group of males.

On one hand, if she helped, she could get seriously injured. But then again, it didn't really matter if she did or not. She could revive by simply sucking the life out of something. (Albeit she wouldn't like it, but it would do the job.) On the other hand, if she didn't help, what kind of a person was she? If she didn't help a fellow mutant when they needed it, then she was just as bad as the people going after one.

She barely had to think about her decision.

Tessa bolted after the group, already thinking of battle plans.

The group led her into another alleyway, one with a dead end.

"Where are you going to go now, mutant? Hmm?" One holding a baseball bat asked.

Tessa couldn't help but feel a measurement of disgust. Each one of these little groups always had a leader, and they were always the one with the big mouth.

"Where do these guy's even come from?" She asked herself, right before breaking the neck of one from behind.

The one with the bat spun around to see the disturbance, and upon seeing Tessa, his eyes widened and his greasy stubble-covered mouth morphed into a vulgar snarl. "It's another mutant!"

Tessa stopped all fighting composure and just looked at him weirdly. These anti-mutant people were very interesting specimens. If you help against their attack, they automatically assume your a mutant as well. Sure, they had reason to, but still.

The original mutant being attacked didn't do anything. Not that Tessa could see, anyway.

Tessa dodged a blow from the bat of the group speaker, and kicked him in the side as a counter. That knocked him down. She went onto the next one, who was ignoring her and going after the other mutant. She grabbed his neck and smashed his face into an alley wall, then did a spinning back kick on one who was nearing her.

She turned around to go after another one, when the worst thing she had ever experienced happened to her. All the muscles in her body cramped up and felt like they were being twisted and her arms locked in close to her body. Her shoulders felt like they were being pulled up by thick ropes, to end up being right next to both of her ears. Right as she realized she couldn't breathe very well, along with not being able to move, she began tipping over sideways. The moment her head hit the ground, the world disappeared into black.

* * *

><p><strong>*Stupid, stupid, mutant haters. You don't use a fist to punch. You use a palm. Your gonna break a wrist if you use a fist. Fists break wrists.<strong>


	21. Where am I?

**Omgsh**.** All this time I was like stressing because I hadn't been putting much Enzo in but I had still listed him as a main character, and it turns out the owner of Enzo hadn't even been reading. Lmao.  
>I'm so tired. I need sleep. I wish I was able to write Kurt's character well. But I can't. Blah. Oh... Oh... Oh my gosh... I'm gonna puke... I ate too much pomegranate...<br>That and I'm sick.  
>OMFGSH. *Runs away and barfs*<strong>

**Awhile later, I'm here, still sick, but ... WRITING! You people encouraged me. Especially SilverStarsOfQuebec. Thank you. I think I'll just keep writing for now and then revise it once I'm done. **

**This chapter is short, I know. But I wanted to leave it at a partial cliff-hanger. And at least it's an update at all, right?**

**Happy new years, by the way. I know it's late.**

**And if whatever happened ever happens again, I'm just going to take a short break from writing. Okay? That's what I did, actually. Then I just panicked, because I didn't update at all. (Even though I was taking a break. It's because it was unofficial.)  
><strong>

* * *

><p><em>Wake up.<em>

Tessa groaned. She felt like she had just been killed, only to be revived and thrown into darkness. How she knew what that felt like, she didn't know.

_Wake up, right now. This isn't good for us. It's ruining your connection to the mind._

Who's voice was that? It didn't really matter. There were too many to really tell.

Tessa groaned again and opened her eyes. Dim lights swam around in her vision, and she felt her head being tugged to the side involuntarily. She wanted to sit up straight, but the world seemed to want to tip sideways; and the world won.

It took maybe six good, long seconds before the blurs of the world finally began to start to focus. Sounds of movement come from somewhere in front of her. After a short time a shape begins to look like the figure of someone - or something.

Another groan escaped the frail girls lips. Though she was thankful she didn't have a headache, - for once - she decided that she would rather have that then the spinning she was experiencing now.

"Well at least your alright," A deeper voice than her own practically scoffed.

Tessa blinked a few times in hopes it would help her eyesight. "Effmehrehnl." She said clearly.

"The fuck?" Came the voice again. It took a few seconds to realize that the voice was actually coming from without, not from within. She blinked again and stared groggily up at someone she recognized only faintly.

The moment she realized where she was, she practically jumped in her franticness to get way. She scurried backwards a few ways, only to topple over on her backside. The person in front of her was a young man probably in his teens, wearing a leather jacket with a hoodie under it. The hood on the sweatshirt beneath was down, revealing an Italian-esque face with blind-whitened eyes and sunglasses on his head.

"Ποιος είσαι?" She blurted out in a flurry.

The person in front of her looked between confused and scowling. "I don't speak Portuguese, lady. But if your fine now, I'm gonna split."

Tessa just gaped open-mouthed at him. She was partially still in shock from waking up to someone and somewhere completely unknown to her, but also in shock from speaking in a language she had never studied. Of course, if she had to guess, it sounded Greek. But she wasn't a real linguistic master, so there was no way to tell.

The man with the leather jacket ignored her inner reverie - though if he were blind, he wouldn't be able to tell, anyway. - and stood up, turning around to leave in the motion.

"Wait!" She called out. He seemed to hesitate for a second, and she used that to her advantage. "What's your name?"

He shook his head and decided that was the wrong answer. As he started to put on his glasses and situate his hood, she decided she would try again. "You look familiar. Do I know you?"

She didn't get an answer. He lifted the flap to what seemed to be a tent and walked out, leaving her to wherever she was.

Tessa just sat there, staring at where he last was and mouth open in shock at his rudeness. Maybe four seconds later she finally came to grips what had just happened and stood up.

It didn't matter where she was. She had to get away from here, if only to find out how long it had been since she apparently got knocked out.

She walked towards the flap the male had walked out of and drew in a large intake of tainted air when she saw the sight in front of her.

The lights wherever she was were dark and were more what her eyes were accustomed to; being locked down in darkness almost all her life. Torches and bins carrying burning items illuminated the places every few feet, making sure the large closed-in space had light. The smell of the place was weird, but carried mostly the scent of people, sickness and sweat. The air was damp and cold and the entire place had an odd green glow to it. The floors, walls and ceiling were all made of some special type of brick. Everywhere you could touch it felt kind of slippery, and the walls arched and made an interesting appearance.

But none of this, not even how odd or magnificent it looked, is what took her breath away.

It was the people.

Mutants. All of them.

Hundreds.


	22. They will not Suffer

**Here we go, people. A gap without canon characters. Bear with me?  
>And yes, yes. More non-evo stuff. And yes, yes. A little out of character with some people. This is on purpose.<br>Thank you, guy's. Your very encouraging. I think I'll be getting up maybe six more chapters before I run out of inspiration/encouragement juice! Lmao I know that's weird. XD  
>And it's a great weakness, because I go chewing you out and then go, "Woe is me. Pity me, therefore I shalt hither wield thy bosom."<strong>  
><strong>...HAHHAHAAHHAHAHA THAT WAS SO FUNNY TO WRITE XD<br>xD...  
>I think I need antidepressants.<br>Okay, so let me explain something. This fic was supposed to be much, MUCH longer than it is now. When I go back and revise it, it will be in it's original length.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><em>Tessa stared at the rose in front of her. It was so beautiful, once. Now it was wilted. It made her sad, really. She had planted it and raised it up into a rose bush, then cut it and put it in a vase. But now it was almost dead. Tessa gingerly fingered the flower, wishing it would be better. If only..<em>

_/ / / / /  
><em>

Bunches and bunches of mutants, many huddled together in thin blankets in hopes for some warmth, littered the ginormous space. She knew they were mutants. She could **feel** it.

Whether it was her mutation that allowed this knowledge, she didn't know or much care. The point was that she knew.

Tessa stepped forward, completely enthralled by the place. Judging from the smell, she was in the sewers. She had read about them in books, but hadn't had any experience of them other than that.

As she neared a burning bin, a mutant with half his face covered in scales immediately jumped from his sleep and stared wide-eyed at Tessa before nearly hurting himself in attempts to get away.

"I-i-it's an Upworlder!" He trembled, pointing a thin, shaking finger at her.

She looked at him in confusion and kneeled down to his sitting height on the ground. "An Upworlder? I do not understand. Where am I?"

The scaly gaunt man didn't seem to hear her words. "An Upworlder," He shook, still trying to scramble away but keep his eyes on her form. "An Upworlder!" He cried loudly, nearing a scream. His voice was hoarse and filled with an unknowable desperation to get away, something that terrified Tessa even more than murder.

Then, as if his life depended on it, he flipped onto his belly - blanket thrown aside - and crawled away on all fours in the opposite direction of her, looking over his shoulder and crying, "GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Tessa winced at the deafening height of his voice. She didn't understand. If this was the sewers, why were these people here? And why did that man seem so terrified at her very existence?

The moment the blanket left his arms, three or four more people scurried to grab at it.

In all, it was horrifying.

The people clawed at each other ravenously, all trying to get the blanket as if there was nothing more precious in the entire world. They didn't seem to care about one another. Each of them kicked and punched and clawed and scratched just to get a hand on the thing, cheeks being ripped and eyelids being scathed in the process. They dug their nails into the others eyes, sunk their teeth into the jugulars and screamed their pain. Mind you, most of them had fanged teeth and claws for nails. It was noisy and violent, and it was worse than the horror movie Logan had sat Rogue down to watch. (He had said if she was going to act Goth, then she was going to go all the way with it.)

She couldn't look away. But she couldn't stand to watch.

Just when Tessa thought they would rip each others eyes out, a loud voice cut into the middle of the terror.

"STOP IT!" It yelled frantically. A moment later two of the combatants were pinned down to the ground by their shirts with some type of tan rod. A mud-drenched violet haired woman violently grabbed the remaining two by the collars of their shirts and rose them up about twice their height.

"Enough!" The muscular woman roared, voice full of authority. "How can you fight among your brothers and sisters?" She asked condescendingly, bringing the two in her grasp a little lower so she could look them full in the eyes. "We are family. If we don't stick together down here, we are just as bad as those who dwell above."

As those who dwell above?

She must be in the sewers.

But why was 'above' so bad?

Tessa watched with fascination as more rods slithered out from the woman's wrists and pierced the corners of the two - children, it looked to be - in her grasp shirts. She then grabbed the rods and stuck them into the ground and left them there to join the others. She picked up the raggedy thin blanket and wrapped all four children up in it, all of them still pinned to the ground.

"If there's any more fighting, I'm going to hurt you," She growled, looking each in the eyes. "Badly." The word was enunciated to promise much pain if they disobeyed.

All four children nodded as if they had simply been told not to put their hands in the cookie jar.

Then two of the eight eyes landed on Tessa. The child looking at her had beady black eyes and raggedy brown hair stuck in clumps of dreadlocks that were filled with dirt and grime. Tessa couldn't tell if it was a male or a female. It's voice had no sex and it's face carried no gender. It's body was covered by the thin blanket, and even so, it looked unisex. The child gasped and it's eyes grew as wide as dinner plates. "It's an Upworlder!" The child cried.

Tessa stared interestedly at the group, no fear even after seeing what their apparent guardian could do.

The violet haired woman snapped her head to look at Tessa and upon seeing her immediately scowled. She stepped away from the children and stomped up to Tessa and grabbed her by the front of her dress. "Who are you?" She asked, her foul breath blowing in Tessa's face while doing so. "You are not from here. I can smell it."

Tessa stared up into her emerald eyes, intrigued. Green eyes were becoming more and more common, it seemed; and Tessa felt excitement every time she saw some. "I do not even know where 'here' is," She explained, watching every move of the woman holding her dress. "Who are you?"

The woman glared into Tessa's eyes, as if trying to find all her secrets by doing so. "You have no right to ask me that. You are in** my** territory. You answer **my** questions." She snarled.

Tessa wasn't even phased, though she probably should have been. Maybe it was because she wasn't afraid of death and craved pain. "I am Tessa. Many people here keep calling me an 'Upworlder', but I do not know what they mean."

Fury flamed in the eyes of the woman when she mentioned the name, 'Upworlder'.

"You will die for your arrogance," She breathed, voice full of hatred. She raised her arm back, and just as another rod started to snake it's way out of her wrist, a voice broke through the air.

"Sarah!" An elderly voice cried, full of the compassion a father would have but full of the leadership of a warrior.

The woman didn't move from her position. Her scowl didn't lessen, the rod coming from her wrist didn't disappear, and her eyes didn't turn away from Tessa's.

"Stop this at once!" It commanded. Tessa turned her head to see the voice, completely ignoring the apparent threat. (Much to the woman's annoyance)

From one of the many railed pathways came an older man in gray-blue robes swirling about him. The man had graying hair and looked to be about in his fifties.

"Look closer, Sarah. She is one of us. Do you not see the signs of lack of sunlight?" He asked, finally close enough that he could peel Tessa away from the girl named Sarah. His bony fingers lined the veins that could be clearly seen from Tessa's ghostly white sheet of skin. "She is no Upworlder."

The girl named Sarah still glared, but this time softer; full of confusion and curiosity. She stepped closer, cautiously, and looked at the veins. After a few seconds of examination, she stepped back and looked at Tessa warily, but this time with a gentleness that wasn't there before. "Your right," She murmured. She looked at Tessa as if there was something different about her. "I'm sorry. With all the nuisances and threats, you can never be too sure. I mean, you know how those Upworlders are." A scowl donned her face as she spat out the last few words. "So arrogant and acting like their better than the rest of us."

Tessa still didn't get what any of these people were talking about. "I do not know what an 'Upworlder' is," She cried almost exasperatedly. "Where am I?" She turned to the older man, "And who are you?"

The white-bearded man looked down on her with a kindness of a grandfather and the understanding of a nurturing mother. "You are in the Sewers, dear one. I am Healer, and this young woman over here is Sarah." He explained, gesturing to the violet-haired woman whilst introducing her.

The violet-haired woman seemed agitated by the name. "I'm not Sarah, Healer. I'm Morrow." She stated proudly, lifting her head slightly when she said her supposed name.

"I am Tessa," She introduced herself again.

What was she doing in the Sewers? Who was that blind person that brought her here? **Did** he bring her here?

"What is an 'Upworlder'?" She asked again, innocent and questioning.

'Morrow' - Or 'Sarah, whichever one she was, - looked at Tessa with a burning passion she had never fathomed possible to wield. "Upworlders," She spat, "Are people who live in the world above the Sewers. The humans." She spat the last two words out as if they tasted disgusting on her lips. "They look down upon us who have a physical mutation, while they go and live in paradise and we are forced to live down here and suffer. We are the Morlocks, and we are the outcasts of the world."

Tessa looked between the two. Healer seemed to be wagging his head and rolling his eyes as if he had heard this speech one too many times.

"Mutants? Forced to live down here and suffer? But... Why? There's nothing wrong with you!" She cried, eyebrows furrowed in concern. She truly couldn't understand what Morrow was talking about. There were people above that cast out mutants? But why? There was nothing wrong with mutants.

Then it suddenly clicked.

The people who had attacked the man who saved her, the group of boys who were mad about the forest, the bullies at the school; everything. They were the people she was talking about.

Then it suddenly occurred to her that all those times she had been hurt by people like that; they had been crying out against her for being a mutant.

All those people caused destruction and chaos because of mutants, simply _because_ they were mutants.

Her mouth hung agape as all this ran through her head. Realization smacked her so hard that it felt like she had literally been hit.

"I..." She stuttered.

Morrow nodded. "Yes," She hissed. "You know what I speak of, don't you?"

Tessa couldn't find words that would suffice. Instead, she nodded. A few moments later she finally came to grips with reality. "Yes. I... I have seen the people you speak of."

Recent memories flashed back to the turmoil above. "Monsters," She breathed, not able to raise her voice above a whisper and not able to utter anything else. "Monsters." She repeated, shaking her head. Her face showed every bit of horror and unbelief. Why? How could there be people like that?

Sure, she had read in her studies that there were people like that. Hitler, for example. He killed people simply because of what they are.

Now, it would seem another war exactly like that was waging. That, or it was coming. Very soon. Very, very soon.

She looked around the space. The children that had been fighting were now huddled together, dozing off as if they were best of friend's. But Tessa looked closer. All had bruises and scrapes, probably caused from the insanity she had seen earlier. That had all been caused because they couldn't go out into the sunlight, and that had been caused because of fear of the 'Upworlders'.

All the children, - all the adults, even - were gaunt and thin, and it made Tessa wonder how they stood up. Most were even thinner than she.

Everyone looked so cold, as if they were going to freeze. Almost all shivered.

Tessa looked back to Morrow. "Where are the blankets? Where is the food? Are there no supplies?"

Morrow shook her head sadly. "No. We try and get what we can, but there is nowhere to get the supplies from. Most of us are either sick or dying, and we don't have any medical supplies to help them with." She gestured to Healer, "Healer does what he can, but even he can't save all of us. To heal the amount of people that is needed causes him much physical strength. Right now, it's all we can do to make sure the weakest still live."

Healer looked sad when she spoke, as if he had somehow failed.

Tessa's heart clenched with her words. Was this how it would be for all mutants, if there was a big war coming?

_"Most of us are sick or dying,"_ Morrow's words echoed in Tessa's skull hauntingly.

It was then she knew what to do.

She had to do it. She would do it. Even if it put her under immense physical strain, even if it made her weaker and more frail than she already was... She would do it.

She would use.. The more lethal end of her mutation. Lethal only to her, of course.

"Where are your sick? Take me to them." She ordered.

Morrow didn't seem to like to be ordered around, but once glance at Healer and she nodded.

She led Tessa across the giant platform where the 'Morlocks' - as Morrow had earlier called themselves - huddled around firebins and attempted to get rest. She led her through the entire village-esque place that they had. She led her across makeshift beds filled with multiple people, fires that threatened to give away, coughing mutants, scaly mutants, furry, discolored; everything. Tessa was sure she had seen what everyone referred to as 'Hell on Earth', and these mutants were living in it.

Finally, Tessa was led to a smaller room with nearly thirty sickly mutants all huddled in different corners away from each other. Many looked like they were about to die.

Tessa had a few doubts on the way coming to them, but once she saw the scene in front of her, she knew she had to do this. Even if it made her feel horrible physically.

"Is this all of them?" She asked.

Healer, who had come with the two, shook his head; also looking at the ill. "No. This isn't even half of them. There are probably about sixty more sick in the conjoining rooms."

Tessa felt terrible for these people. Looking down almost pitifully, she came to the center of the room and sat down. "Please, bring them closer to me." She asked gently. Morrow did so, Healer helping.

Once everyone in the room was successfully gathered around the small girl, she sat on her knees and bowed her head, both hands flat and faced down in front of her.

"What are you doing?" Morrow asked. Tessa didn't answer. If she was to do this, she would need every ounce of concentration she could muster.

To be honest, she had only done this one other time, a long time ago..

_"Please," Clarice begged. "I'm hungry. Can't you... Can't you feed me?"_

_Mother stared unsympathetically. "No." She answered simply, putting all her cold rage into that one syllable._

_Clarice's form sagged until finally she fell backwards from pure exhaustion. It had taken up alot of energy just to beg for food, much less sit up long enough to look Mother in the eyes._

_Her gaunt form fell against the bars of her cage and dug into her back mercilessly. This was it. It had to be over, now. There was nothing left. Just the darkness of the basement that felt much like a dungeon._

_Mother turned to leave, but when she opened the door, she turned back around. "You have a visitor." She stated, voice void of emotion._

_Tessa stood in the doorway. When she saw Clarice, she gasped and her eyes became a fraction wider. "Clarice?" She asked, as she walked closer to the cage that held said person. "What are you doing in here? You look so skinny! And your eyes..! Their so big!" She exclaimed._

_Clarice tried to smile, but it ended up looking more like a weak, tired grimace. "It's because I'm so thin," She explained hoarsely to the younger girl._

_Tessa turned back to Mother and held out her hand. Mother handed her a pair of key's. Tessa turned back and unlocked the cage, then stepped inside. "Hi," She greeted jovially, crouching down beside Clarice so she wouldn't hit her head on the top of the cage._

_"Hi." Clarice answered, voice barely above a whisper._

_"Mama said I could come visit you for awhile. Though, don't tell her I called her Mama," She whispered conspiratorially with a hand making a semi-tunnel to Clarice's ear. "She might scold me."_

_Clarice tiredly turned her head to look at Tessa and she smiled faintly. "I won't. Promise."_

_Tessa grinned in response. She grabbed Clarice's hand and tried to tug her out of the cage. "Let's go play the piano," She cried acquiescently._

_Clarice wouldn't budge. Not of her own free will, but because she had used almost all her energy to sit up to beg to Mother, and her body now felt like lead. "Food... I need food, Tessa," She breathed. _

_Tessa quit tugging on her and looked at Clarice curiously. "Food? Are you hungry?"_

_Clarice's unending patience didn't wear thin. She sat back into the hard bars and kept that faint smile on her face while looking at Tessa. "Very."_

_Tessa opened her mouth to say something, but Mother interrupted whatever she was about to say. "She's dying, Kit." She said, stepping forward; her low-heeled boots making a gracious clanking noise on the dungeon-esque floor. _

_Tessa's eyes were wide as dinner plates, now. She looked back at Mother, fear growing by the second. She had seen death. She had even caused it. She knew it wasn't a good thing. "Dying?" She croaked. _

_Mother nodded, keeping her malicious grin at bay. "Yes. She's starving to death."_

_Tessa snapped her attention back to Clarice, eyes still wide. "Starving?" _

_She looked back to Mother, looking exactly like what she was. A child scared out of her wits. "Is there no food?"_

_Mother shook her head, crystal blue eyes growing colder by the second. "Not for her."_

_Tessa turned her head to look back at Clarice. Now that she had been told, she could see clearly that she was dying._

_A few tears spilled down her cheeks. "'Sis?"_

_Clarice nodded, but her eyes were closing. "I'm so tired," She stated at the softest volume possible._

_Tessa felt panic run through her. "No! You can't die!"_

_Mother just stood and watched, a malevolent smile trying to creep onto her face. Yes. This was going as planned. Clarice's slow, painful death would bring Tessa the cold experience she needed to be more like herself. Then she would have even more control over her._

_"No," Tessa cried again, this time her voice lower and more focused. "I won't let you die." _

_Mother's wicked smile grew larger. She knew the girl only had the limits of death; nothing more. There was nothing she could do at this point, even if she did feed Clarice._

_Instead, Mother watched at Tessa's expression grew solemn and determined. "Remember the rose from the other day?" She asked. _

_Clarice's eyes fluttered open with much strain. "The one you saved," She said, her words slurring together. _

_Tessa still understood her. "The one I saved," She nodded. "I said I would never be able to do it again. But I will. I _will!_ I'll do it again, and you'll live. You'll be okay."_

_Then, face still determined, Tessa sat both hands on both of Clarice's shoulders. She closed her eyes tight and looked like she was straining to go to the bathroom. A few seconds later, her eyes opened and rolled a little, and the girl looked like she was about to puke. She didn't. _

_In the dark, you could clearly see that a thin white light streamed from Tessa's hands and engulfed Clarice. Mother gaped.  
><em>

_Almost two seconds after this, Clarice screamed in pain. Tessa jumped, eyes open and wide. Maybe this part of her powers didn't work on humans._

_Frightened, she removed her hands and scrambled away from Clarice, thinking she had hurt her instead of healed her like she did the flower from the other day._

_A few seconds later, Clarice lay limp in her cage. Tessa stared at Clarice in horror. She had killed her!_

_Mother relaxed a little. Not exactly as planned, but it would do._

_Then suddenly Clarice opened her eyes. She sat up and looked at Tessa in awe, then raised a hand and looked at it. She turned it around a little, to get the best look, then turned back to Tessa._

_"I can't believe it! Look what you did!" She exclaimed._

_Tessa looked on in awe at Clarice too, mouth ajar. "I... I can't believe it either..!"_

_Clarice's body looked completely healthy, like she had never even gone a day without eating. Clarice grinned just as Tessa began to smile, then the younger child groaned softly._

_"My tummy feels weird.." She said. _

_Clarice barely got out an, "Uh-oh," before Tessa fell limp, completely exhausted. Clarice caught her before she fell, and despite her worry for the child, couldn't help but smile. She truly was amazing._

_Almost exactly after she had thought that, though, a small trickle of blood seeped out of the unconscious child's mouth._

_Both Mother and Clarice's hearts stopped in fear._

_Whatever she had done, whatever healing her mutation may provide; it took a large toll on Tessa. Almost killed her, really.  
><em>

_Mother snatched away the young girl from Clarice and gave her a look that held both undying hatred, shock and fear. No words seemed to be able to convey what she felt at that moment. Fear, especially._

_Tessa would **never** be using that part of her mutation ever again. Not as long as The Mother lived._

The frail young girl knew that was years ago and she had never done it again, but she also knew that she couldn't let these people suffer.

She knew she hadn't drained anything in awhile; and that promised most likely death.

Back then, she had been healthy as ever and had drained many thing's of all types of life. She was strong. If only healing Clarice took that much out of her, she knew the consequences of what she was about to do.

She knew, in her heart, that this would probably kill her. But she had to do it. These people needed help.

If she had to die to heal, then so be it.

But she would not let these mutants suffer.


	23. Callisto's Quest

**Sigh. Nothing is ever connected anymore in X-Men. It's always, "Let's do this."**  
><strong>"Okay, let's do that."<strong>  
><strong>A little while later, new writers come, and go, "Let's forget they did any of that, and let's to<em> this<em> instead, but not mention anything previously."**  
><strong>And then the whole thing starts all over again.<strong>  
><strong>Like for instance, making Colossus gay. I mean, really. I guess they just threw the KittyxPiotr relationship away with that, didn't they? And then they killed off Nightcrawler because they didn't think he was important enough. But for freakin' HOPE GREY! That's not even an HONORABLE death. Sigh. And then don't even get me started on how many times they've killed people and then brought them back to life.(Which, that isn't SO bad. I mean, that gives hope for Kurt to be brought back.) And Beast? Totally screwed him over. Like honestly people.<strong>

**Hehehhee Oh my gosh. XD  
>I loved your comment, SilverStarsofQuebec. Lol<br>It literally made my day. And it's more of just healing, not resurrection.**

**And yes. I actually have a plot going on behind the madness of power-giving. So just wait and be patient, and then you'll find out all my little secrets... *Witchy cackle***

**OH NO YOU DON'T! DON'T YOU DARE! UGH! YOU STUPID WRITERS! I HATE YOU! MARVEL, IF YOU LET THEM DO THIS I SWEAR I'LL NEVER BUY ANYTHING FROM YOU EVER EVER EVER AGAIN! **

**IT'S BAD ENOUGH YOU KILLED OFF KURT, BUT NOW YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST BRING BACK AOA *ATHEIST* KURT AND SAY EVERYTHING'S BETTER?**

**NO. NO. THIS DOES NOT WORK FOR ME. YOU BRING BACK THE REAL KURT RIGHT NOW! I SHALL NOT STAND FOR THIS NONSENSE!**

**JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE TOO SHALLOW TO LOOK INTO THE RELIGIOUS CONTEXT OF THE CHARACTER DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE TO KILL HIM OFF AND THEN BRING BACK SOME STUPID OTHER DIMENSIONAL FREAK THAT'S NOTHING LIKE WHO KURT ACTUALLY IS AND THEN PRETEND THAT'S THE REAL KURT.  
><strong>

**I'm going to go murder something or someone now. Good day, sir!  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Just as Tessa had closed her eyes to start the healing ritual, a rough hand tapped her shoulder, causing her to jump and turn to see what it was. It was Morrow.<p>

"I said, what are you doing?" She scowled cautiously.

Tessa relaxed a little. Morrow was just trying to protect her people.

"I'm going to heal them," She stated.

Morrow drew her eyebrows together in cautious curiosity. "Heal them? All of them? How?"

Tessa decided since this would take some explaining, she would get more comfortable. "My mutation. There is a... Smaller part of it that allows me to heal, though it takes a horrible toll on my body."

"A smaller part?" Morrow asked, seeming to catch on that this might take awhile.

Tessa shifted uncomfortably. She really didn't like to talk about... THAT... side of her mutation, even though she had seemed to do it so freely at the X-Mansion.

"I.. Drain the life of thing's," She explained. Morrow listened intently, Healer doing the same. "And it gives me power. The lesser part of my mutation, healing, comes along with this. But it will only work if I have the power of something I drained in me. I seem to have some kind of filter in me, that makes the drained energy transform into life.

"It's like... Equal trade. The drained energy turned into life will heal damage done to the body; Human and mutant alike. I've also learned it works on plants, so I suspect it would work on animals, too."

Healer and Morrow still listened, both waiting for more. Tessa sighed. "Yes, I suppose there's more.

"It takes a great toll on my body, as said before. I don't know why. I think... That something happened to me. That my mutation wasn't supposed to bend that way, but it does somehow. I don't know how, and I don't know why. I just know that it heals, and that's all I care about."

Morrow frowned in concern. "Will this have any side effects on my people?" She asked.

Tessa shook her head. "No."

Morrow looked awed but nodded, then looked at the ground in thought.

"Have you the strength to do this?" Healer asked.

Tessa turned to look at him. If he was a healer indeed, then he probably knew the physical strains of healing. "To be truthful... No. I don't. But I have to do this. If I don't, these people will suffer."

Morrow snapped to look at Healer, eyes wide with plans.

"I don't like that look," Healer said, shaking a bony finger at her. "I know that look. It's a look of mischief."

Morrow ignored his comment and took his arm then led him away from Tessa; into a completely different room.

"She's the key to the war." She said immediately after they were out of earshot.

"Sarah, don't go getting any ideas." Healer warned.

Morrow shook her head threw her arms in the air. "Don't you see?" She asked, as if it were obvious. "She can drain our enemies. Then, she can come back and heal our wounded. She's the perfect warrior."

Healer shook his head as if he couldn't believe her words. "Didn't you see her? She's only a child. Not only that, but she's no warrior. She's just a frail girl. I swear to you, Sarah, if you use her for your own purposes, it's going to come back and bite you."

Morrow frowned angrily at him. "You blind old bat! Have you no care for what happens to us? She can rid of those humans! Better than that, she can give us life and help us create anew!"

Healer shook his head, unphased by her rude comments. "Did you not hear what she said? It drains her."

Morrow put her hands on her hips. "That's what draining our enemies is for."

Healer just shook his head again, this time more in defeat. "Do what you will... Morrow. But it will only cause pain."

Morrow shrugged off his comment. Instead, she went back out into the room with Tessa in it. The young girl was still waiting patiently. "Healer and I have discussed some thing's, and we've decided that you shouldn't drain yourself healing our people. You should make sure your strong enough before you go doing something that could injure you."

It was true. Morrow didn't need her new hope to up and die just as soon as she had found her.

Tessa looked at her as if she had just said she could never breathe again. "I need to heal these people." She said, still determined.

Morrow shook her head in full authority. "No. I command you go make sure you won't die before you heal them."

Tessa was silent.

If she went back up to the 'Surface World', then she would be able to bring back rations for the mutants down here. Plus, it wouldn't do to make their apparent leader angry.

Sighing, she nodded and stood up. "I'll return when I am more healthy, then."

As she turned to leave, Morrow gave one last command. "Go back to where you were before, we'll join you shortly."

Once Tessa was again out of earshot, she frowned thoughtfully. "We can't just let her leave. What if she doesn't return?"

Healer shook his head, inching towards the door Tessa had left through. "I doubt she would abandon us. She seemed sincerely interested in our welfare."

Morrow sighed over dramatically and threw her hands in the air yet again. "Your too trusting."

A few seconds of thoughtful silence passed. Morrow looked up at Healer, after seemingly thinking thing's through. "Go show her the way out. I will take care of everything else."

Healer shook his head and looked at her partly in suspicion and partly in exhaustion. She was always making her schemes and plans, and almost none of them ended good. He knew she was only concerned for the well-being of the Morlocks, but sometimes she got a little... overzealous. "I don't like it when you plan." He muttered, though he left through the door anyways.

Morrow turned on her heel and speed-walked through another series of hallways and doors. After many turns and doorknobs, she finally made her way into yet another room in the vast expanse of Sewers.

There, cradling a child Morlock, sat a woman with coal black hair and an eyepatch over the right eye. "Callisto," Morrow called. Said woman looked up at her. "I have a job for you to do."

"What did you have in mind?" Callisto asked quietly, so as to not wake up the sleeping child.

"I want you to... Keep watch.. over someone for me."

* * *

><p><strong>Yep, that's right. I'm not killing off Tessa.<strong>

**...Yet. Soon, my dearies... Soon.  
><strong>


	24. To steal and be stolen from

**If someone seems a little out of character, it's probably on purpose. It's because.. you have to remember that everyone's still young. Nearing the end of the story, though, everyone will be alot older. But not yet. We're just in the barely beginning's of this. I plan for like... maybe forty.. Fifty, more chapters after Apocalypse is gone. And then again, there will probably be more than that. Who knows. We'll get there when we get there.  
>LOL! Oh, Canid. You make my day every time you review. XD<br>I'm glad SOMEONE reads my author rants. LOL. The fact it amuses you makes me grin in triumph, my friend. I love to make people laugh.  
>Lol. When you guys get down to reading the second section, don't worry about it. The twisted man's rambling's actually have a purpose. However, they won't make sense until later chapters. Sorry! :P<br>**

* * *

><p>A feeling of strange De Ja Vu hit Tessa as she crawled out into the sunlight. She cringed and ducked her head to hide her sensitive eyes from the rays, but eventually her eyes adapted; even though they still throbbed.<p>

When she got out of whatever alleyway she had been in, she found that she hadn't even strayed out of Bayville. Currently, she was only maybe a mile from the highschool.

Well, that was fine. She decided that her first choice of action would be to get somewhere she could feed herself. Though she could easily just 'recharge' by draining something, it would do no good in the healing process. After she 'healed' the sickly, her health would be determined purely on whatever state her body was in. And frankly, it wasn't in good shape.

But where would she go? She couldn't go back to the X-Mansion. Not after everything that had happened.

As she was walking by, thinking about these thing's, she conveniently passed by a clock store with an open window. The time on all shelved clocks read that it was lunchtime at the Bayville Highschool.

Well? Better to start there than nowhere.

/ / / / /

"It's so near. It's so near that I can taste it." He chuckles malevolently. "Petty, petty, petty. Yet there's still work to be done... Interesting, it seems, yes.."

Suddenly a thought occurs to the twisted man. "But I wonder... No, that just won't do. She has to die before that can happen. Oh, you are a clever one, aren't you? Hmm... Indeed, it is as I thought.."

/ / / / /

"It's too near for my tastes." Mother frowns. "If she finds out the truth, then there will be no more life for me. What will become of the future? It all rests in her hands. At least, most of the future does. The rest of it lies in mine."

She turns to look back at her plans. "At least, that is what I once thought. There are many more inconveniences now. A large part of them being... Xavier." She hums slowly in thought, then turns back to her viewscreen. "But that is no matter. He'll be gone soon, and then there will be nothing further in my way. Just a little bit longer. I've waited for years, I can wait a few more."

/ / / / /

Tessa wasn't a thief. She had never stolen anything in her life, and up until now, she had never planned to. But every time her morality came in to tell her stealing was wrong, flashes of images of the mutants in the Sewers flooded her mind. She had to help them. She didn't know why she felt so strongly about helping, she just knew that she did.

Somewhere, she knew it had to be because of Clarice. She had done wrong to her, - killed her, even - and she didn't have the chance to fix what she had done. So maybe she wanted to help, because.. there was simply no other way to try and repent of her sins.

As much as she had hated it at the time, her healing mutation could not bring being's back to life. Now, though, she knew it was probably for the best.

No, Clarice didn't deserve to die. No, it was probably not 'her time'. But there was a part of Tessa, deep down, that believed all thing's happened for a reason. Maybe Clarice's death was one of them.

Tessa looked around in the small medical room Bayville Highschool possessed. No one was in here; not even a nurse. Part of her half-wondered where the missing staff member could be, but she ignored her curiosity and instead started to look for a bag.

She knew that what she was doing was wrong, but she couldn't bring herself to care enough to stop herself from doing it. In her mind, war was already waging; secretly. Under the covers of 'peace' and 'diplomacy'.

In the near future, rations would probably be few to none. It would be better if the mutants were to have them. After all, the only mutants she had met were kind or fearful. It truly made her believe that there was nothing but 'good' mutants in the world. So if there was one side to survive, she wanted it to be the 'good' side.

She felt triumph when she found a fold-out grey bag. She hastily unfolded it, unzipped it and began dumping medical contents from various drawers into it, leaving nothing behind.

When it was finally full, nearly all of the supplies in the small room was in the bag. There were still other thing's that would be useful, like the stethoscope hanging around a tack on the wall, or the antibacterial fluids and wipes sitting on the counter. But she would need another bag if she were to take anything else, and she got the feeling that someone was going to walk in on her at any given time.

So she swiftly left the room, not leaving any obvious traces behind except for the fact the supplies had majorly dwindled.

She went outside and deposited her bag somewhere no one would look unless they were trying to find it, went back inside and headed for the cafeteria. Since it was lunchtime, she could probably just go get some food. If she was lucky, she could get extra and bring it down to the mutants who needed it. Though, she got the feeling that if she brought food down there, she would get torn apart just by walking into the room.

She hadn't eaten at all when she came to school, so she didn't really know the process of getting food. Of course, she knew you had to pay, but Xavier had been kind enough to make sure all expenses were paid for the students. She didn't know if that still applied now, of course. Her being gone from the Institute had probably gotten rid of any perks.

Though, in her haste to try and 'get healthy' and help the mutants, she had all but forgotten that anyone she knew came to the school.

As she picked up a tray, - which she assumed you put the food on - copying the few students ahead of her, she nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard her name being called. It was bad enough she was nearly sweating from being nervous about stealing the school's medical supplies, but it was another thing to have your name screamed at the top of somebody's lungs. In public, no less.

"TESSA!"

A few people turned to look at the person. Just from the voice alone, Tessa knew it was someone from the Mansion. Tessa cringed; both inward and out. She didn't even have time to turn to see who it was before her small frame was nearly crushed in a tight embrace. She was lifted off the ground, which earned a squeak from the small girl.

When she was returned to the ground, she finally saw who it was and her heart ached.

Violet eyes, black hair and blue streaks all welcomed her. "Where have you been?" She asked. Tessa's mouth barely got open to respond when Jennifer continued, "Don't answer that. I know where you went."

And then, Tessa was smacked upside the head. "That's for running away." Jennifer declared.

Tessa looked at her like she had just said she was the chosen one to come and be fed to aliens.

Despite this, she wanted to confide in Jennifer. But she knew she couldn't. She hated being so deceiving to someone she valued but she reminded herself that sacrifices had to be made. This was a time of war, conflict and if it all came down to it, she simply couldn't associate with someone she didn't want hurt because she knew they would just get hurt anyway. She was a black hole that ate souls and she knew it.

"Where is your table?" Tessa asked. Jennifer turned and pointed to a place near the doors to outside. Tessa barely glanced where she was pointing and nodded. "I'll be there in a second."

Jennifer gave her a strange look but smiled anyway. "Okay. I'll just go wait for you, then."

And she did just that. Jennifer whipped around and trotted back to the table, shrieking all the way over there that 'Tessa is back!'.

Tessa went through the line, got her food, (After some figuring out how to do so) and indeed went to go sit with her former companions. All throughout lunch she was bombarded with questions and surprised greeting's from mostly the younger of the group. Scott, however, reprimanded her on her actions and told her she was going to get in big trouble with the Professor when they got back to the mansion.

She didn't care. She wasn't going back. Someday, though, she was probably going to have to return. Since this was, of course, war; she might have to come back and ask for their aid against the human menace.

After lunch she assured all who asked that she would be fine to make it to class by herself, then hastily made her way back outside to her little bag.

/ / / / /

Principal Darkholme watched the girl in the white dress walk outside; uncaring of the rules or regulations of the school. She didn't try and stop her. This only gave her more thing's to report on to Magneto.

/ / / / /

Rogue watched, with eyes narrowed in suspicion, as Tessa walked the complete opposite direction from the class she was supposed to go to. She would know. She was in it.

This was something she would have to tell someone about.

Or maybe...

Maybe she could simply follow the girl. Then she would have more information.

She took one step forward, then was dragged by the arm into her class."I don't think so, Missy. Your staying right here." The teacher said.

Rogue opened her mouth to snappily respond, but one look on the condescending look of the teacher and she snapped it right shut. Instead she glared daggers at him and went to go sit in the back, figuring she would have to report what little she had later.

/ / / / /

Tessa got her bag and headed back to the place she remembered crawling out of. She didn't get even one step before a boy with wild white hair seemingly appeared in front of her, though she could have sworn she saw a blur right before he was there.

"Going somewhere?" He asked, voice cocky and full of darkened mirth.

Well, since he _had_ just appeared out of nowhere, she figured he was a mutant. And since this was so, it would be fine to tell him.

"I am." She stated, looking at him but not seeing. She was far too distracted with her current goal.

He eyed her bag. "Whaddya got, there?"

It didn't even occur to her that this was some kind of twisted interrogation. "Medical supplies. I am going to help the mutants in the Sewers. War is coming and they will need rations." She answered.

His smirk was firmly planted on his face. "Sewers? Don't you think there's much more needy people up here?"

Tessa, for the first time, looked him in the eyes and actually saw them. Saw **him**. "War is coming. I need my race to survive."

Clutching her bag in her hands better, she muttered a soft, "Excuse me." And made her way around him to leave.

The overly-prideful and confident young man watched with dark eyes as she left. His hair may have been white, but his heart was the complete opposite.

"What a stupid girl. She told me all that and I didn't even have to pry."

Though, it's not like that mattered now. He had something of value to his father, and he was going to use it.

* * *

><p><strong>Yes, weird chapter. I know. But all questions, comments and concerns will be answered in due time. And all weirdness will be worked out when I go and redo this story. So don't worry about it. And yeah. I know. This is kind of a weird place to leave it. But oh well. And yes. I also know that it's weird for someone like Tessa to be giving out information so freely. But you have to understand that she's under alot of stress and she's only focused on one thing. I imagine that would be enough to distract a person, don't you think? :P<br>**


	25. Sewer Nightmares

**Hm. :/  
>It's been awhile since we heard from Zara and Erik. I should make up for that. ;D<br>Ohoho. You people make so many assumptions so quickly!  
>LAWL! Silverstarsofquebec! I laughed so hard at your review! LMAO! Okay, so first: At the time, Rogue WAS a double-agent. LMAO. At least that's how I received the Evo. Lmao. And I know. I should have put the table conversations there. But I didn't. When I go back and redo it, that will definitely be there. See, I wanted to put the table conversation there, but I skipped it because I wanted to get the chapter up and I needed to do something else. And I didn't want to wait to post the next chapter any longer. In basic, I rushed it. xD;<br>And oh, yes. Mother has a name. But that's part of the big plot. ;D  
>So you won't get to know until LATAARRRHH! }8D<br>Maybe I shouldn't have told you that. XD  
>I should shut up and write now. Otherwise I'll go off giving all my plot secrets away. LOL. I'm a horrible writer in that sense. XD<br>Because I just can't wait to get it written down! 8D  
>EDIT: Okay. It's bugging me. Like really badly.<br>After I'm finished with this I'll go back and put in the table conversation.  
>Poor Canid. Actually, poor EVERYONE. Because almost all the readers like how selfless Tessa is being. You will all hate me in the future. XDDDD<strong>

**BREAKING NEWS****! 'Swimming Home' is going comic! COLORED comic, to boot! Unfortunately, this takes alot of time and paper. And since I'm not getting paid to make this, thing's'll probably be pretty slow. But I've already gotten the first few pages done, so all that's left is coloring. When it's done, I'll post the links on a my profile. Look for it!**

**I'm so twisted.**

**OOOOOHHHHHHH VIRUSES SUCK DX{  
>So blame it on 'Vista 2012 security' that this came late. And by the way, if your computer asks to update to WindowsVista/XP/something 2012 update, don't do it. }:L  
>Even if it looks real.<br>Which it does.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Many questions bubbled around in Zara's mind. The current one that kept popping up right now being, 'Where are we going?'.<p>

Erik had been suspiciously optimistic and a little more laid-back for two day's now, and it was starting to get to her. She wasn't used to him being like this. Not that it was entirely bad, of course. It was just... Odd.

Take today, for example. He said that the two of them were going to 'go out' and 'get some fresh air'. Usually, he never left the compound. It was far too dangerous for any of the X-Goons (As Pyro liked to call them) to see them, plus he had everything he needed to plan at the base.

Zara had even checked his bodily fluids to see if it was really him and not some trespasser. Lo and behold, it was indeed him.

Now, both of them were walking casually down the sidewalks of Bayville.

It was a little strange, to be honest.

Erik was wearing casual clothes, not his uniform. [A long trench coat, leather gloves and some weird mixture between a beret and a golfing cap.] The outfit was at very least a little familiar from her early day's with him, but it was still a bit odd to see him wearing that rather than his uniform.

"Come, my dear," He beckoned, as they neared a restaurant. The metal door opened on it's own accord, but there was no 'automatic' warning so she knew it had to have been Erik.

Zara cast him a completely bewildered expression, and he just returned it with his cold mask of a face. She almost jumped in surprise when he placed a gloved hand on the small of her back. He led her inside; and after nodding to the waitress to give them a seat, he leaned closer to her and she trembled when she felt his lips next to her ear. "We have work to do."

The words didn't even process.

An involuntarily whimper escaped Zara's lips, to which she mentally smacked herself. But when she glanced at Erik to see his reaction, he looked the same as he always did. And yet... There was that weird look in his eyes. She had seen that look from time to time, but didn't know what it was. It wasn't anger; that much was to be sure of.

Of course, she could always check to see what it was from his body. But she wouldn't risk hurting - killing, even - him.

He led her to a table with a shady-looking creature in the corner and sat her down next to himself possessively. At any other time, she would have sat at his feet like a dog. But this was a public place, so she sat next to him on a chair instead. Another weird feeling.

The barbaric-looking man sitting across from them looked impatient. "I do not like waiting, Erik," He said with a thick Russian accent.

Erik was unphased by the man's threatening tone. Instead, he looked over the menu; gloves still in place. "Patience, Russian. It is not I who came here asking for help."

Zara watched the interactions between the two. The man looked nearly on the verge of snarling at the two.

After Erik had ordered, he sat his gloved hands on the table and leaned forward ever so slightly. Enough to be interested, but not enough to diminish his authoritative atmosphere.

"So tell me," His low voice rumbled, "About this... Piotr Rasputin."

/ / / / /

Tessa let out a long, slow sigh that hurt to be let out. Her lungs felt like they were being ripped apart, and her body felt like it had the flu. Of course, none of that was because of the actual reasons. It was because she had used her..._Other_... Mutation.

So now there she lay, monitoring the sick people and making sure everyone was in good enough health. She had healed the most sickly of people; so no one was really going to die. But right now, she just couldn't go on. She had used up almost all her drained energy and she knew that if she used any more, she would be on the highway to death.

It was because she hadn't eaten. Now, she was beyond the point of anorexia. She was simply skin and bones. If she had just eaten and tried to stay healthy, she would be able to use all the energy she could give.

But Morrow had been right. If she used up all her energy now, she would be no use later. She would be dead.

In any case, she had been right to take the medical supplies from the school. It turned out that Healer had knowledge in the medical field, and so the supplies were actually good for use. Sure, it was nothing fancy, but it was better than what they had before.

But none of that mattered now. She needed to rest; and even as she thought on thing's, her heavy eyelids closed on their own accord.

/ / / / /

Tessa felt like she was in water. Her cheeks felt wet, her hair felt free and weightless and her dress didn't feel like it weighed anything at all.

Wait.

Dress?

It didn't even feel like she was _wearing_ a dress.

Eek!

Tessa snapped her eyes open and frantically tried to sit up, for fear someone had thrown her into the sewer water naked. Not only would that be disgusting, but it would be horribly embarrassing.

Well... Unless it was normal for the Morlocks to bathe in sewer water.

It seemed just as she was starting to get a grip on what normal life was like, she was placed down into this world. Now she was learning normality down _here_, too.

In any case, when she opened her eyes, she saw she wasn't in sewer water. She wasn't even in the Sewers, at all. She was floating on the surface of a large, cold, lake in seemingly the middle of nowhere. It was dark. The only thing she could partially see was from the fog surrounding the place. But it's not like that helped a whole bunch.

She started to swim to what she hoped was an edge of the lake, thinking that perhaps she could find somewhere to get clothes.

When she reached out a limb to push herself through the water, she froze literally and figuratively. This wasn't water.

She reached a hand through it again. Though it was definitely cold, it wasn't liquid. It ran around her fingers like water would, but the texture was different. It was less dense.

That was when she realized that the air was different, too. Though she could feel herself breathe, she wasn't breathing air. It was like there was none.

In some act of desperation to find out where she was, she dove under the almost-water. She was startled. She could breath under this almost-water, and she could even see. It didn't hurt her eyes to keep them open.

But not even that was enough to distract her from what was really important at the moment. What she found beneath it was... Horrifying.

Bodies.

Everywhere.

All of them familiar. All of them victims of her hand. All of them dead... Just like they were when she left them.

And in the middle, staring right at her; smiling.. Was Clarice. Her personal nightmare.

/ / / / /

"I figured it out!" Kitty cried, nearly breaking down the door with her entrance. The surrounding people in Xavier's office turned to stare at her. Kitty simply walked up to Xavier's desk, blissfully unaware of the expressions on everyone's faces.

"I figured out what was bothering me. What I forgot," She explained, eyes only on the Professor.

Xavier patiently cupped his hands together and focused his attention on her alone. "And what did you find?"

She placed both hands on his desk. "I know why I always got that funny feeling around Tessa before. It's because I saw her before! At the school! It was just a few day's before she came here, wasn't it?" She turned to look at Evan, standing somewhere off to the side of Scott; who had his arms crossed and was watching the scene with a practiced neutral expression. "It was when Kurt got in that fight with Scott over the party." She explained.

Evan frowned at her, unmoving and unresponsive. After a few moments he finally regained focus and waved a finger at her, nodding slightly. "You know, I think I remember that!"

Kitty nodded enthusiastically and turned back to Xavier. "See?"

Xavier furrowed his brows in contemplation.

As if to ask the question everyone else had been wondering, Kurt spoke up. "Why is zhis important?"

Kitty opened her mouth to speak, but Xavier spoke first. "Because it means she could have been contacted by the Acolyte's beforehand."

Everyone in the room either stiffened or started listening more seriously. Xavier continued, "Which gives us a reason to believe Magneto has something to do with her disappearance."

/ / / / /

Tessa didn't move at all when Clarice's dead form began floating towards her. She was frozen in place, terrified of all the corpses.

When Clarice was only about a foot away from Tessa, she started to lift a rotted hand outward to the younger girl. Right as her fingertips - or what could pass as them - were about to come in contact with Tessa's face, Tessa was ripped backwards out of the lake to the surface, where she was met with the face of Roxanne.

Roxanne lifted her out of the water and onto whatever ground there was, pulling her away from the lake.

"What are you doing here?" Roxanne demanded, sounding more flabberghasted than angry.

It took Tessa a few moments to respond. Between waking up in a lake that wasn't really a lake, almost being touched by a dead Clarice, being pulled out of the water and standing on ground that felt like plastic that would collapse at any moment, she was just about ready to break down.

"I do not know. Where is 'Here'?" Tessa responded, voice sounding far more frail than she had wanted it to.

Roxanne looked unbelieving at her, searching her face with her eyes as if to make sure it was really her. "Are you okay?" She finally asked softly.

Tessa wrapped her arms around her unclothed torso and stared at the ground, which seemed to be see-through. "I..."

No. She wasn't okay. She had just seen everyone she had ever murdered in cold blood. Some of them, all of them; were familiar. But some of them she couldn't remember even killing.

"Let's go. We need to get you some clothes." Roxanne said, putting a hand that Tessa only partially felt on her back.


	26. Distractions

**This is rated for Tragedy and Drama for a reason people. Very well rated. Because for one thing, this has a SHITLOAD of drama. The second thing, I'm not known to make Disney ending's. I kill everyone off, I make people angry, and I do thing's somewhat realistically. (At least in the fact that bad thing's DO happen.)**  
><strong>So in future chapters, don't get mad at me. Because I know you will. xP<br>Ohhh yes. I'm good at making webs. xD  
>Loving the quick and speedy reviews! They make my day. ;D<br>So... I've thought about it... And maybe instead of making this one gigantic fic, I should like make different segments of it. I don't know. I think I should because of the brilliant cliffhanger that I'm going to leave you all on, and I think I shouldn't because I toooootally want to make a fic that's like 100+ chapters long. Lol. But I think that it's going to feel great when I mark this as 'complete', you know? I know. We're in the barely beginning's and I'm already talking about the end. xD;**

**If you people are curious about Roxanne, your sooooo going to hate me in this chapter. :D**

* * *

><p>Tessa was led through the thick fog, unable to see and at the moment not really caring if she did or not. She let Roxanne's smooth and perfect hand guide her along the path to wherever they were going, eyes still wide open and staring at the amazing ground.<p>

The longer they traveled, it seemed, the more she could feel Roxanne's hand. It was as if it became more real with time.

She didn't know how much time passed before they made it to their destination. Maybe hours. Who knew. Actually, there might not have even been time where they were. Another mystery.

In any case, they made it there: A little cabin-like house that didn't look like it suited Roxanne at all. Not that Tessa had any taste in housing. Or Roxanne's taste, for that matter.

Roxanne told Tessa to sit down on the homey-looking loveseat that was in front of a fireplace while she went to get clothes. Tessa objected at first, thinking it was disgusting or weird. Mother would never have allowed her to do so. Then Roxanne told her to just do as told; there were no germs where they were.

The loveseat didn't seem to have any feel. It was like sitting on fluff. Fluff that disappears when you make contact with it. But it didn't disappear. And yet, it held her weight. Whatever many pounds that may have been.

The fireplace didn't hold any warmth, and barely cast any glow for light. Even that looked partially see-through.

Roxanne came back a few minutes later, a short-sleeved red shirt and plain shorts in hand.

"Here. The underwear is folded in with the rest of the clothes, and I didn't know your bra size." She said, handing over the garments.

Tessa looked at the clothes oddly, then looked at Roxanne with the same expression. "Bra? What is a bra?"

Roxanna face-palmed.

Tessa shrugged off the strange reaction to her question and got dressed. While she did so, questions bubbled in her mind.

Whatever a bra was, if Roxanne and her were the same people, why didn't she know her size?

Why did she need clothes? (Besides modesty, why did she need them anyway? She was in a place that didn't really exist, wasn't she? At least she was last time she saw Roxanne.)

Where did she get the clothes?

Where was she, even?

"I don't know your bra size because you don't know your bra size. If I had to guess, I would probably say... A B. Maybe a C." Roxanne answered for her.

Tessa slipped on the shirt and raised an eyebrow at her. "Listening to my thoughts again? These letters mean nothing to me."

Roxanne crossed her arms and casually leaned against the wall the door was on. "Those letters are sizes. And yes. I was. I can't help but hear your thoughts. It's in my nature. At least in this place, it is."

Fully dressed, Tessa felt more comfortable sitting on the couch.

"As for your other questions, the clothes were here already when I came to this place. They were here along with everything else. For clothes to wear? I thought you would want some. It's custom in the world you live in," She smirked, "At least last time I checked."

Tessa raised an eyebrow. "Last time you checked?"

Roxanne shrugged. "You have more questions."

Tessa frowned at her. She didn't answer. Instead of repeating the question or asking why she didn't answer, she just went along with it. She got a feeling she wouldn't get an answer. "Yes," She murmured.

"Where are we? Why can't I... Well... Why can't I_ feel_ anything?" Roxanne opened her mouth to answer, but she continued, "I mean, not really feel. I can sort of feel the couch.. But... I can't. Not really. But I could feel your hand on my back as if you were right there beside me."

Silence.

Roxanne looked like she was waiting for more. After a few seconds of this ongoing quiet, she finally seemed to accept that Tessa was done.

"You can't feel this place because it's not physical. Not really. It's all in the mind... Quite literally.

"You can feel me because I am you, and you are me." Roxanne told her, coming to sit next to the girl.

Tessa was getting exasperated by now; but her practiced patience won over. Roxanne _was_ answering most of her questions, after all. It was a vast improvement from the first time they met.

"What do you mean?" Tessa asked slowly, enunciating every word so as Roxanne knew she_ needed_ the answer. "You keep saying that. But what do you mean, 'I am you and you are me'?"

Roxanne sighed long and loud. "That..." She said, checking out her manicured nails. "Is a question that calls for me to start from the very beginning,"

She turned her head to look at her, "**My** beginning."

/ / / / /

"Could you_ please_ scoot over?" Jennifer growled.

Jean rolled her eyes. "You could be a little more polite. What a misuse of the word, 'Please'. You only use it to say it snidely."

Jennifer's lips rose up into a half-snarl. "Fine. Then let me do it _my_ way." And with that, she forcefully pushed into Jean's side; making sure her elbow made good contact with the redhead's ribs.

"OW! HEY! It's not like I have super squeezing powers!" Alison cried.

Kitty just continued reading her fashion magazine. "Phasing is _soooo_ cool right now." She said, leg's crossed comfortably.

"Yeah, and so am I. Vhy did_ I_ have to sit next to Bobby?" Kurt inserted, trying to somehow scoot away from the icehead.

"I know what you mean. God, Bobby. What are you, a Vampire?" Tabitha shivered.

Bobby did an attempt at an apologetic shrug in the cramped space.

"This van is _not_ big enough for us." Scott sighed.

"Caught onto that, did you?" Evan quipped.

"Are we there yet?" Jamie complained.

Logan let out a loud growl/groan that made everyone else in the car shut up. "We'll get there when we get there, got it?" He turned around in his seat to look at his passengers, one hand on the steering wheel, the other with the index finger pointed. "Until then, I want everyone to shut your traps!" He roared, causing Jamie to jump and create duplicates of himself.

Everyone groaned.

/ / / / /

Mother sighed. Thing's were going faster than she had planned.

No matter. She would put an end to that. Cause distractions.

_Be_ the distraction.

She got up slowly, trying to get her groaning joints to stop hurting.

Besides everything she had done to prevent it, it was still happening.

She was getting old.

The weight of the situation weighed heavily on her shoulder's and made her feel so helpless.

However, instead of moping; she went over and picked up her designated items. Once that was done, she was on her way out of her little haven. She would be making a trip to the sewers.

/ / / / /

Morrow paced behind Healer's back; who was busy with his healing potions at his little makeshift medicinal shack.

Tessa had only partly healed the sick. Would she be able to do it completely? Maybe this was a failure. Maybe she made a mistake.

"Patience, Sarah." Healer said unworriedly, as if he were bored by the mere aspect of her distress. "She's already weak, you know. Give her time."

Morrow just paced faster. "Maybe I don't want to be patient. I need the answers, and I need them _now._"

Healer just sighed. "Always so ready to rush to action. Perhaps you should begin to plan, instead of act mindlessly."

Morrow barely heard him. Instead she just frowned. "I have to act. I have to do something."

Healer sighed louder this time. "How is it you never hear my words of advice, but you'll hear my praise?"

Again, his words were lost to her. He was aware of this. He shook his head, deciding to focus more on his work than on the young woman who took action before thought.

A few seconds later; just as Morrow was about to step away to go to Tessa; time seemed to stop.

Both mutants noticed.

Healer's head slowly rose up from the items in his hand and he turned to look behind him. Morrow had stopped pacing, and was now looking straight at the cause of the stop.

It was as if the entire atmosphere changed.

In the middle of the scene, there was a thin, middle-aged-looking woman wearing a black victorian dress. The click-clack of her boots were nearly the only thing's heard; besides Sewer.

Morrow's face creased into a scowl. "Who are you?"

The woman didn't even acknowledge her, as if she had no time for the girl.

Which, you could tell.

She walked right past Morrow and instead came next to Healer.

"Give this to the girl. She will want them." She said, her voice full of authority and her crystal blue eyes as cold as death itself. While she said these words, she took Healer's hand and brought it to said item before making sure it was firmly in his hand.

Healer frowned at the woman and looked down into his hand. The clanking of boots announced the woman was leaving; but he wasn't very concerned about it. In his hand was a pair of very worn-looking pointe shoes; supposedly for Ballet.

When he looked up, he saw Morrow frowning at the shoes as well. She looked up at him. "The girl?"

Silence.

Healer frowned at her for awhile, mouth slightly hung open in old-aged thought. After a few seconds, he finally said, "Perhaps our visitor."


	27. She knows

**Yes, this chapter is short. It's because the next one is extremely long and the ending (For awhile, at least) of my wonderful cliffhangers.  
>And now, for your regularly scheduled: RANDOM RANTING TIME.<br>Wheeeee. You know what? I don't even know if these people are OOC anymore!  
>I should really go watch the series again or read the eight new comics I got or do something X-Men productive. But I haven't been. I've been caught up in school, being sick, and reading Dramione. Which, the couple doesn't even make sense. It would never happen. And yet, I read it anyway..<br>In other dimensions, I've also been caught up watching Phineas and Ferb with my little sister. LOL!  
>Hey, it's better than Johnny Test, right? Or Strawberry Shortcake? Or My Little Pony? LOLOL!<br>Or! Or! Or! I know! That one mouse who does ballet, even though it's clearly physically impossible for a mouse to do ballet, and even though the mouse is OBVIOUSLY not wearing pointe shoes and therefore should not be on her toes otherwise she could easily break something not to mention fall over. I forgot the name of the show. Lmao.  
>Hey, did any of you see my note thingy? That I wouldn't be back till like 235/12?  
>Well, I'm back anyway. Rant's and all. But don't get used to it! I still have school!<br>And, GASP, I'm learning grammar. Just yesterday (I forgot what we were talking about) I corrected my mother. I was all, "That's a clause, not a phrase."  
>I have sooooo much more to rant about, but I won't. Because I know I need to get on with finishing this chapter and uploading it instead of informing you of my life from the past few months. Lmao<br>**

* * *

><p>"Well? then we better go give them to her." Morrow suggested, grabbing the shoes from his hands. "I needed to go see her anyway." She muttered, barely audible to the aging man.<p>

Healer frowned and tried to grab her arm to pull her back, but she was already out of his reach. "Don't think I don't know what your planning," He said, following after her and trying to keep pace with the speeding girl.

"And how would _you_ know about anything that I plan? Didn't you just say a few seconds ago that I _don't_ plan?"

Healer rolled his eyes. Teenagers.

They were in the sickroom before he knew it, and there lay Tessa, propped up against a semi-wall. She looked like she was sleeping. Morrow walked right up to her and shook her; rather harshly if Healer had any say in it. "Wake up. I've got something for you."

/ / / / /

"Your beginning." Tessa echoed in a voice that spoke of bratty unbelief.

Roxanne nodded, apparently unphased with her attitude. That or simply uncaring. Maybe just oblivious. "But... I will need you to_ see_ thing's for me to be able to explain well enough for you to understand."

"What do you mean, _see_ thing's?" Tessa asked, "You said that before, too. When we were in the white hallway."

Roxanne stared at her nails for awhile. A few moments passed. Finally, she looked up; perfect eyebrows creased into a frown. "I-" Her mouth barely got open before the Earth shook again, like last time. (Or, maybe not the Earth. Wherever they were, at least.)

Roxanne and Tessa both fell off the couch; Roxanne being the more fortunate of the two, being able to land on her hands and knees instead of her face.

"What is happening? _Why_ is this happening?" Tessa screeched. It was only the second time, and she was already well tired of it.

"I will explain when you return," Roxanne yelled over the sound of earth being shook.

"How do you know I will return?" Tessa cried worriedly.

"Because you have a reason to." Was the last thing she heard from her beautiful friend.

/ / / / /

"Ugggghhh... My back.." Kurt groaned, rubbing said part of his body. "I'm not going to be able to stand straight for a week!"

Kitty waved a hand nonchalantly. "Quit being such a big baby. Everyone else is fine. Besides, it's not like you stand straight anyway!"

Kurt gave her the dirt eye. Besides her comment about him not standing straight, everyone else was_ not_ fine. If trudging around halfway hunched over, groaning in pain an agony and complaining about the van and the entire trip over here was 'Fine', then Kurt was Errol Flynn.

As Kurt went on to inform her of this, everyone else stretched and groaned, blissfully unaware of the conversation at hand.

"That is_ the _last time I _ever_ go on a road trip with _you_, Badger." Tabby moaned, sprawled out on the grass.

"Get in line," Logan responded, sticking a cigar in his mouth.

Jennifer groan-huffed. "Y'all got issues. There's no way the road was _that_ winding."

No response. It didn't even look like he was listening. Instead he looked like he was mapping out coordinates in his head just by looking outwards to the land.

"Why did we come out here?" Evan groaned. "Mag's place isn't even IN... Wherever we are."

Logan took out his cigar, the other hand in his pocket. "We're somewhere by Quarryville. No, Magneto's hideout isn't near here. Not his place in Bayville, at least."

The few surrounding people had their attention piqued. "So your finally going to tell us why we came all the way out here?" Jennifer asked, cooling down a little. "And by car, no less."

Logan didn't even acknowledge she existed. "There's been a few rumors going on that Magneto has a second base; one he's been recruiting mutants at. Normally we wouldn't be concerned with a few little rumors - most from untrustworthy sources -, but we got report of a sighting here in Quarryville that a few kid's with seemingly 'supernatural abilities' were walking into an abandoned storehouse.

With Tessa's disappearance, this gave us reason to look into it."

Jennifer laid on her back in the grass and looked up at Logan upsidown. "Did you ever get the notion that she might've ran away? Purposefully?"

Evan nodded, obviously having been thinking the same thing.

Logan turned around to face them and opened his mouth to speak, but didn't get a word out.

"Who cares! The real issue here is why we traveled by car!" Tabby exclaimed.

All three people gave her the dirt eye.

"Ever heard of being inconspicuous?" Logan growled.

Tabby shrugged. "It's not like the X-Jet doesn't have a cloaking device."

Logan rolled his eyes without hesitation. "You wanna know why? Because Chuck decided we needed something different for travel. 'There will be times the students will be in situation's like this. They need to prepare.'" He said in a horrible imitation of Xavier.

Jennifer smirked and Evan turned away to hide his whilst Tabby informed Logan what a horrible imitation he had made. It wasn't often you got to see the completely immature side of Logan. It was amusing.

Well, at least _something_ good came out of the drive.

/ / / / /

The first thing Tessa felt when she regained consciousness was her head rattling around like a bobble-head.

"Wake up. I've got something for you." An unfamiliar voice rang.

Tessa groaned loudly. It seemed like every time she came out of her meeting's with Roxanne, the splitting headache she woke up with got worse.

When she opened her eyes she was met with the face of a borderline-scowling pink-haired woman. It took her a few seconds to remember where she was. (Didn't take long, though. The stench was enough to spark a few memories.)

Tessa had an object shoved into her stomach. "Here. Some lady came and said these were for you."

Tessa stared at Marrow for a few seconds before she actually looked down to the object's in her lap. Her eyes visibly widened at the site.

There, sitting blatantly in front of her, were her ballet slippers she had gotten a few months before she left Mother's house. Or, what could be considered a 'house'.

She felt an odd mixture of emotions right then. The first one being a weird sense of joy. Believe it or not, she had actually missed doing ballet. Seeing her shoes was an interesting feeling. Yet, she couldn't wait to slip into them.

The second feeling, which was the dominant of the two, was fear and horror collided.

Why?

Because Mother knew where she was.


	28. Assistance

**Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. I put myself in the hospital for reasons of stupidity and I've been busy with life. But here's an update. It probably won't be very good, but it'll be enough. For now. I'll try to finish this. xD**  
><strong>I need to go back and read this story, so if thing's are a bit off-kilter I'm sorry<strong>.** D8**

* * *

><p>As much as Tessa cared for the Morlocks, and as comfortable she was around them, she had to leave something she treasured yet again. She had to leave because Mother knew where she was, and since she knew that, she also knew the Morlocks were in probable danger. The last thing she wanted to do was put them in a worse situation than they already were.<p>

She told them she would occasionally come in and check on them to heal and protect the people, but she couldn't stay for fear of putting them in danger. Marrow wasn't too happy about this. In fact, she looked like she was about to blow a gasket. But needless of her anger, Tessa left anyway. Healer had given her comfort in doing so, telling her that Marrow's plans were crazy in any case. She had no idea what he meant by 'plans', but nodded nevertheless.

However, beyond all the strife of having to leave somewhere again, there was still a great doubt in the back of Tessa's mind.

If Mother knew where she was, why wasn't she doing anything about it?

Why wasn't she bringing her home and punishing her like Tessa feared she would?

The question could never be answered with her current knowledge.

Besides that, there was always the issue of Roxanne. When would she be able to see her again? And how, exactly, had she been able to see her? Why had the voices and visions increased to it's climax when Tessa came to the Institute? So many questions, so little answers.

There were two thing's, though, that were for sure:

1. She needed to keep moving in order to try and make sure The Mother became more unaware of her actions.

2. She needed to talk to Roxanne again.

But how she was going to do the second, she didn't know. It seemed whenever she really needed to talk to her, she was just there. Their meeting simply happened; it wasn't planned.

But then another string of thoughts occurred to Tessa. What if the Mother could find her no matter what? Most of the questions she asked could only be answered if one searched for them. But how would she search for them? She had no leads. No beginning.

Though, there was always a slight chance that the Professor at the Xavier Institute could help her.

..Then again, there was always that Zara person. She could probably help, too.

Wait a minute. What was she thinking? She couldn't go asking for help. She could kill people or hurt them or put them in jeopardy.

But even still, there was the greater part of her telling her she had no choice.

She had to do it.

So, with such ambitions, she set off to find the Institute once more.

/ / / / /

"I am at unease," Xavier declared softly, staring out his office window. "The child has been gone far too long for my comforts and I cannot tell her whereabouts. I know Magneto has something to do with the telepathic disturbance, I just don't know how.. But I know the why." Xavier's wheelchair turned to his companion. "Tell me, my dear friend, what your opinions on the matter are."

Storm shook her head. "I'm unsure whether or not Magneto really has something to do with this. I get the strange feeling that there's something bigger going on. Something we can't see."

Xavier nodded as if he had been expecting that answer. "I have suspected that numerous times."

Storm's eyebrows furrowed. "How much do we really know about this girl?"

Xavier remained silent. The only response was his shift in movement to rest his nose on entertwined fingers.

/ / / / /

It took five hours, but Tessa finally found the Institute.

Slowly, hesitantly, she walked up to the doors. She wasn't sure if she should knock or if she should just walk right in. After biting her lip in contemplation for awhile she finally just opened the door and walked in.

She didn't even stop by her dorm or the Danger Room or anywhere else. She made her way directly to where she remembered Xavier's office to be.

"..About this girl?" A familiar voice came through to her senses beyond a door near to her.

There was no more talking.

Tessa didn't stop when she reached the door; she pushed open the ajar entrance and walked straight in.

"I require your assistance."


	29. To the beginning

Two figures were in the room, both behind the desk. When she made her declaration, Storm, one of the inhabitants of the room, turned to her. Xavier did the same after her.

Xavier looked shocked. Storm shot him a glance. He didn't look at her.

"You've returned."

Tessa nodded curtly. "I have. But I am in need of your assistance."

Xavier had an odd expression on his face. "What can I help you with?"

Tessa's lips tightened, but she forced the words out. "I need... to find out information on my mother."

/ / / / /

Logan took in a deep breath through his nose, trying to catch any traces of previous sentients.. or perhaps recent ones.

"Why the Hell would anyone build a warehouse here, anyway? Unless the old man built it himself."

It was true. The warehouse Charles had asked Logan to check out after the kid mutants went off to camp was seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

Logan shook his head. There was no possible way to find out much unless he went inside.

"This'll be fun."

/ / / / /

There wasn't anything that could be done. Xavier had no knowledge of the Mother and Tessa had no knowledge of the Mother's real name. There was no one who could possibly know of the creature, but Xavier promised he would try to find anything he could if Tessa would stay. She agreed, then asked to retire to her quarters.

If she couldn't get any immediate information, she could at least attempt to start with answering her other questions.

And her suspicions were right. The moment her head hit the pillow, she was asleep.. and just as soon she had entered Roxanne's Realm.

This time they were on a king-sized bed in the middle of an ocean.

Tessa's brows furrowed. She didn't have to look to know Roxanne was sitting behind her. "Why do our environments change every time I return to this place?"

Tessa turned to look at Roxanne and saw she was in the middle of a big yawn. "Hell if I know. It never changed until you came along. In fact, think _your_ the cause of the change in environments."

Tessa 'hmm'd' and didn't say anymore. A wind eventually blew and sent them toward the end - wherever that may be. It was as if the world just stopped- and they fell tumbling over the end. When they landed, they were in the white hallway again.

Tessa looked around. There was nothing except them... Again.

"Explain to me," Tessa said, brows creasing, "What this place is."

Roxanne sighed and walked ahead of Tessa, heels making the only other noise in both of the females' existence. She walked down to the end of the hall, and for a second Tessa thought she would open the door with the golden handle. But she did not. She walked to the one nearest to it on the right and then stopped. She motioned for Tessa to join her, so she did.

Tessa looked at the door. In bold red letters, it read: "ROXANNE"

Both females stared at the door for an unknown amount of time before Roxanne placed her hand on the door's front. "Are you ready?" She asked, not looking at Tessa but her face still completely solemn.

Tessa nodded after a few seconds of contemplation. "What lies behind this door, Roxanne?"

Roxanne pushed, and the door yielded as if it had been waiting for her to open it. "My history."


	30. Roxanne: Part 1

**Sorry for all the short chapters. I promise one of these day's it won't be so short. xD;**

* * *

><p>The second the door was opened, black tendrils flew out and enveloped both women like poison onyx. They had no choice but to be sucked into whatever lie in the room ahead.<p>

Then she was no longer in the place she had been before. Her bare feet touched solid, coarse dirt, and her surrounding's became that of a very dark, very large prairie.

Tessa looked around. In the distance there was a light; seemingly coming from a building. Not too far away there was a barn adjacent to it. Her and Roxanne seemed to be at the edge of a forest, and the prairie mentioned earlier started merely a few feet away.

"Where are we?" Tessa asked. She noted that her lips didn't move and her voice wouldn't surface, but there was a sound very similar to that of the words she had spoken. Tessa watched in wonder as soft blue bubbles stretched far above her, emanating from her mouth.

Roxanne spoke no words, either, but Tessa clearly understood what she was trying to converse. "We are in a small pasture a few miles away from the closest town: Paris." Tessa barely noticed the pink-tinted bubbles that were released from Roxanne's mouth and left to float up into the atmosphere's air above them.

Tessa wanted to frown, but her expression remained completely serene and unmoving. "You mean to say we are in France?"

"Yes. It is where I was born."

Tessa turned her attention back to the small house. "That is your house?"

Tessa saw no change in her expression, but something in Roxanne's eyes changed. She had no idea what it was. Of course, she was getting better at reading people, but she was still extremely inexperienced. "It was."

Tessa focused on the house. The moment she had the thought that she wanted to go up to it, the world spun wildly into a kaleidoscope of blurs. When it stopped, she was right in front of the house, watching with interest at the scene unfolding.

There was a boy looking up at a window longingly, and up in the window a story high there sat a beautiful young girl giggling softly.

The boy said something, but Tessa did not hear it, and she doubted if she did that she even would understand it.

"What is he saying?"

Roxanne's eyes lit up with wistful joy. "He is telling me how wonderful I look in the moonlight, and how he wishes for me to come down to join him in his arms." A few diamond tears fell out of her eyes and shed the ground with their splendor.

"So that is you." Tessa stated, looking at the girl sitting on the window.

"Yes."

The boy ran up to the house and clapped his hands on it. His mouth moved as if to proclaim something, and the girl's reaction was utterly shocked.

"Now what is happening?" Tessa asked impatiently. She did not like that she could not hear what was going on.

"He is asking me to run away with him." The girl's mouth moved and her head shook as if she couldn't believe he would suggest something like that. "I am telling him that it is foolish to think so; that it would cost us our lives if not more."

Tessa wondered briefly what she meant by 'more', but didn't 'say' anything as Roxanne continued.

The boy moved back a couple paces and held his arms outstretched on both sides as if he were an eagle. "He is telling me that we could run away to the unknown lands together and never have to worry about prosecution again."

Tessa was bewildered at this. "What time are we in?"

Roxanne turned to her as if she should know, but the words she spoke next utterly shocked Tessa. "700 B.C.E."


	31. Roxanne: Part 2

Tessa was utterly shocked. She probably would have had an amusing expression on her face, normally, if it weren't for the fact she couldn't move it. Therefore her face portrayed nothing and Roxanne would have no clue of her inner shock, were it not for the two being connected.

So many questions. Who was the boy? Why couldn't she hear what they were saying? But those were only surface thoughts. The most relevant wonder of all at the moment was: Roxanne really was old!

"I cannot hear them," She explained, obviously listening to Tessa's inner reverie. "I am reciting from memory."

Tessa looked at her again in shock(or would have, anyway). "You have an excellent memory if that is the case; to speak word-for-word from this far back is an amazing skill!"

Roxanne stared ahead at the empty field. "I cannot forget. It is.. an enhancement given to me. One I sometimes would rather live without."

Tessa was about to ask about her words, when Roxanne answered for her. "Another tale for another time. We are starting from the beginning, and as such we shall ask no questions about the future."

Tessa remained silent.

The girl in the window looked as if she were torn between staying or going. Finally, after a few moments that seemed like forever and no time at all, her lips moved. "I am asking what will become of my family and how I could leave them with so little. I am reminding him again that my elder sister has already gone off and married; I am the only child left to my family and as such I am to be their hand for as long as they live."

The boy stretched his arms out to the maiden in the window and he spoke silent words to her.

"He tells me that my mother is young and my father is fair with health; I do not need to worry about my parents. He say's that we will visit often."

The girl stood up from the window and bent over, face stern with panic and head shaking.

"I am almost near pleading now. He knows I cannot leave my family without notice and then suddenly return."

Roxanne sighed brokenheartedly and turned away from the scene. Tessa followed. "What is wrong?" The white-dressed girl asked.

Roxanne shook her head. "He is telling me sweet words.. Convincing me to go away somewhere with him."

Tessa looked her in the eyes. "And what is your response?"

The world around them warbled again, this time in browns and blacks and golds. When it stopped, they were in a petite, cozy-looking cabin.

The door on the wall somewhere to the front and right of them was knocked down, and a strong, burly man looking to be in his late forties stomped through the way with an axe in his hand. You could obviously tell he was shouting very loudly, and at his silent calls the boy from before speedwalked through an adjoining hallway.

The two seemed to start up in a brilliant argument, full of animated hand gestures and loud yells. The girl from before later came from the hallway, seeming to come because of the fight.

The boy seemed to have come through to the older man, and the axe-clad male turned with a frightening fury to the girl. The girl looked on at him in absolute horror, then fled to the younger boy and clutched his arm as if he would vanish. She looked beyond scared as she pleaded something to the boy, tears brimming in her eyes.

The boy wrenched his arm from her hold and stepped back, throwing his arms in the air as if to proclaim something at her.

The girl turned to the older man and got on her knees, hands clapped to together in a praying fashion. It didn't take a deaf person to read her lips. They repeated one thing, each time more desperate than the last: Please.

"What is happening? Who is the older man?" Tessa asked urgently.

Roxanne shook her head and more diamonds fell from her honey brown eyes. "The older man is my father. He had heard that I left and followed our trail. He came in to try and save me, and the boy you see now has told him that I seduced him into bed. He claims I am a harlot and that he did not know any better; that he could not resist my beauty. My father believes him, though I pray he is saddened by it."

Tessa looked on with a new revelation of understandings and yet felt extremely sorry for the younger Roxanne. "So this is how you started down the wretched rode of a harlot." She clarified.

Roxanne nodded.

The world became a blur again and in the next moment they were back at the first house. The older man, Roxanne's father, led the girl roughly by the arm to the porch, where he practically threw her there. She fell onto the rough wood terribly hard and didn't seem to have the will to get up. Her entire body shook with heavy sobs as an older woman(presumably Roxanne's mother) resembling the girl walked out, hands clapped over her mouth in shock.

The man made some gestures to the young Roxanne and the older woman removed her hands from her mouth and looked at her husband in shock and anger.

The woman stomped over to the girl, drug her up by the arm to eye level, and very sternly asked her something. The girl shook her head hopelessly, snot and tears making the entirety of her face now.

The woman threw Roxanne's younger form away, leaving it to rot on the grass a few feet away from the porch. The woman pointed at her and yelled something, and then made a more firm move to point to the forest Tessa and present Roxanne had come from.

"That is my mother," Roxanne said, her voice breaking in many spots, "She is casting me out and branding me as a harlot. Whoever shall see me shall know that I am a wench and only to be used for gross pleasures."

Slowly, still sobbing - now harder than ever before -, the young Roxanne skittered off into the woods and melted in with the darkness.


	32. Roxanne: Part 3

Tessa was utterly shocked. She probably would have had an amusing expression on her face, normally, if it weren't for the fact she couldn't move it. Therefore her face portrayed nothing and Roxanne would have no clue of her inner shock, were it not for the two being connected.

So many questions. Who was the boy? Why couldn't she hear what they were saying? But those were only surface thoughts. The most relevant wonder of all at the moment was: Roxanne really was old!

"I cannot hear them," She explained, obviously listening to Tessa's inner reverie. "I am reciting from memory."

Tessa looked at her again in shock(or would have, anyway). "You have an excellent memory if that is the case; to speak word-for-word from this far back is an amazing skill!"

Roxanne stared ahead at the empty field. "I cannot forget. It is.. an enhancement given to me. One I sometimes would rather live without."

Tessa was about to ask about her words, when Roxanne answered for her. "Another tale for another time. We are starting from the beginning, and as such we shall ask no questions about the future."

Tessa remained silent.

The girl in the window looked as if she were torn between staying or going. Finally, after a few moments that seemed like forever and no time at all, her lips moved. "I am asking what will become of my family and how I could leave them with so little. I am reminding him again that my elder sister has already gone off and married; I am the only child left to my family and as such I am to be their hand for as long as they live."

The boy stretched his arms out to the maiden in the window and he spoke silent words to her.

"He tells me that my mother is young and my father is fair with health; I do not need to worry about my parents. He say's that we will visit often."

The girl stood up from the window and bent over, face stern with panic and head shaking.

"I am almost near pleading now. He knows I cannot leave my family without notice and then suddenly return."

Roxanne sighed brokenheartedly and turned away from the scene. Tessa followed. "What is wrong?" The white-dressed girl asked.

Roxanne shook her head. "He is telling me sweet words.. Convincing me to go away somewhere with him."

Tessa looked her in the eyes. "And what is your response?"

The world around them warbled again, this time in browns and blacks and golds. When it stopped, they were in a petite, cozy-looking cabin.

The door on the wall somewhere to the front and right of them was knocked down, and a strong, burly man looking to be in his late forties stomped through the way with an axe in his hand. You could obviously tell he was shouting very loudly, and at his silent calls the boy from before speedwalked through an adjoining hallway.

The two seemed to start up in a brilliant argument, full of animated hand gestures and loud yells. The girl from before later came from the hallway, seeming to come because of the fight.

The boy seemed to have come through to the older man, and the axe-clad male turned with a frightening fury to the girl. The girl looked on at him in absolute horror, then fled to the younger boy and clutched his arm as if he would vanish. She looked beyond scared as she pleaded something to the boy, tears brimming in her eyes.

The boy wrenched his arm from her hold and stepped back, throwing his arms in the air as if to proclaim something at her.

The girl turned to the older man and got on her knees, hands clapped to together in a praying fashion. It didn't take a deaf person to read her lips. They repeated one thing, each time more desperate than the last: Please.

"What is happening? Who is the older man?" Tessa asked urgently.

Roxanne shook her head and more diamonds fell from her honey brown eyes. "The older man is my father. He had heard that I left and followed our trail. He came in to try and save me, and the boy you see now has told him that I seduced him into bed. He claims I am a harlot and that he did not know any better; that he could not resist my beauty. My father believes him, though I pray he is saddened by it."

Tessa looked on with a new revelation of understandings and yet felt extremely sorry for the younger Roxanne. "So this is how you started down the wretched rode of a harlot." She clarified.

Roxanne nodded.

The world became a blur again and in the next moment they were back at the first house. The older man, Roxanne's father, led the girl roughly by the arm to the porch, where he practically threw her there. She fell onto the rough wood terribly hard and didn't seem to have the will to get up. Her entire body shook with heavy sobs as an older woman(presumably Roxanne's mother) resembling the girl walked out, hands clapped over her mouth in shock.

The man made some gestures to the young Roxanne and the older woman removed her hands from her mouth and looked at her husband in shock and anger.

The woman stomped over to the girl, drug her up by the arm to eye level, and very sternly asked her something. The girl shook her head hopelessly, snot and tears making the entirety of her face now.

The woman threw Roxanne's younger form away, leaving it to rot on the grass a few feet away from the porch. The woman pointed at her and yelled something, and then made a more firm move to point to the forest Tessa and present Roxanne had come from.

"That is my mother," Roxanne said, her voice breaking in many spots, "She is casting me out and branding me as a harlot. Whoever shall see me shall know that I am a wench and only to be used for gross pleasures."

Slowly, still sobbing - now harder than ever before -, the young Roxanne skittered off into the woods and melted in with the darkness.


	33. Roxanne: Part 4

"Darkness. Always there is darkness. That's all there ever has been."

One of the few times Mother spoke to Tessa without malevolent intention, those were the words spoken. And now it seemed to make a little bit of sense.

Because all there was was darkness.

No matter which way you turned, you always met the same thing. Black.

And it stayed that way for a really long time. It stayed like that for so long that Tessa didn't know if she really existed anymore. Did she? Maybe everything she had known up until now was a figment of her imagination. The darkness was numbing and it made all sense and reality vanish.

And then, after what seemed years, a light appeared. Silent, almost unseen, at first. But it became brighter and brighter until new surrounding's made their show and Roxanne even came back. This time the two were standing in a tavern. Many day's passed in a fast forward cycle. Weeks passed. But every time there was something the same: the same woman and the same man. The woman was, as expected, Roxanne. She seemed to be well-craved in the tavern, but not one man came back as much as the one mentioned previous. He came back again and again and again.

And then, just as it seemed an end was going to come and thing's would be explained, the tavern disappeared and Roxanne and Tessa were wrenched back into the White Hall. At the end there was the Professor.

Tessa was astonished. "How did you get here?"

Roxanne seemed... angry.

"As a telepath, I can wander many places in the mind. I'm here because I am concerned about the well-being of your physical body. You have neglected it for several day's... more than a regular human could withstand without the proper nutrients. If you don't return soon, to the real world, you may begin to decay."

More shock. Just as Tessa turned to Roxanne for some kind of lead, she was shocked again to find that the harlot was absent.

She turned back to the Professor, who was waiting expectantly and a tad bit confusedly.

"I..." She began. "Well... I shall return, if you will help me."

The Professor seemed to think for a minute. "Hm... "

It took a good while, but he finally said something. "I believe that you may have a small amount of telepathic ability. If you didn't you wouldn't be here. I believe that by practicing this, you may be able to control your entering and dismissing of this place."

Tessa cocked her head at him. "You mean... I am like... Jean?"

He shook his head. "Consequently, no. Your abilities in the telepathic criteria go only so far as to allow you open entrance into this realm."

His eyes slowly raked over the doors in the hallway, as if he were evaluating a student. "I have never seen anything like this before," His eyes darkened the slightest bit, "Somewhere between the Astral Plane and the Physical realm... It would appear impossible... And yet here we are."

And then suddenly his orbs snapped back to look at Tessa. "We must go."

His wheelchair rolled closer to her and he held out a hand. Tessa stared at it for a moment before she hesitantly put her palm in it.

And then there was, as had become custom, nothing.


End file.
